All The Answers
by webcomix
Summary: Feliciana makes a really stupid mistake that plunges her into a horrible nightmare. And this time, her friends refuse to help her out. Genderflipped AU, sequel to World Wide Story, rated for mouth.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This was really difficult for me to categorize because Lovina still factors into this story as a central character, and it's more about love and relationships in general, of all types, whether it's romantic, platonic, or familial. It's really just a story about Feliciana growing up a little bit. I hope you like it C:**

**That being said, for those who have not read **_**World Wide Story**_**, the main pairings will be Gerita, Spamano, and Giripan (yes, I know there were a few more in WWS, but since roughly half the cast of WWS graduated and aren't around anymore, those pairings are much less important and at most, will just be mentioned in passing...It doesn't mean they're completely o_ver_ though. Just not present in this story.)**

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.**

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><p>Who needed alarm clocks, seriously?<p>

And Feliciana was indeed very serious about this question. Alarm clocks were incredibly overrated. She and her sister both agreed, as neither owned one. For Feliciana, her internal clock just had amazing precision. Every morning, that summer, she'd awoken every morning on the dot of 11:49 AM. This particular late August day was a surprising exception, however.

Bright golden-brown eyes popped wide open on the stroke of 7:03 and Feliciana shot out of bed, making a beeline for the door. Racing down the hallway, she was forced to backtrack as Lovina's room was right next to hers. The door was nearly torn off its hinges as Feliciana performed a spectacular running leap onto the curious shape huddled in bed.

"LOVI! IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, VEEEE!"

…For Lovina, she had no perfect internal clock. Instead, she had Feliciana as a sister.

"GET-THE FUCK-OFF-GODDAMNIT-"

She also had a horrible aversion to early mornings, regardless of the season.

Lovina tried to tug back her blankets, but Feliciana held them fast, chattering gaily all the while.

"I mean, it's the _first day_ of our _last year_ which is so, don't you think, _weird_ to think about! We're seniors now! It's so exciting!...Vee, you _have_ to get up, Lovi! Antonio can't drive you to school anymo-"

She nearly toppled over as Lovina abruptly let go. A pouty face finally appeared over the crest of the sheets.

"Thanks for reminding me, geez."

"Awww!" Feliciana crawled closer, smirking with delight. "Lovi misses her boyyyyfriiieeend-"

"I-I don't miss him! I ju..I just realized how much I have to fucking _walk_ everywhere now! Goddamnit, Feli!"

Lovina finally managed to wrest herself free of the sheets and stalked towards the bathroom, snatching up a pile of clothes that had been waiting on a chair as she left. Feliciana grinned. So she'd prepared for the day after all…

Feliciana flopped back onto the bed, dissolving into giggles that the pillows could not in any way mute. She was the only person she knew who counted off the days of summer towards the first day of school – at age seventeen. Not that she hated the holiday break! This particular summer had been excellent. Feliciana had been painting or sketching every single day, only stopping to accompany her sister and friends to whatever cool event that would pop up on schedule. Once Antonio and Francis took them all sailing on the lake, which was _totally awesome_ as Gillian had incessantly repeated to them all afternoon. Sometimes, like that day, she brought her supplies anyway because a water-reflected sunset was too pretty to pass up!

Ludwig had approved, for once, of her actions. Maybe it was because she actually worked so hard – though Feliciana could hardly call it work! – and the paintings could be used in a portfolio for submission to art school. Oh, right…this was the year of university applications! The thought of that excited her even more. Feliciana squealed again and kicked out on the bed, knocking Lovina's bull toy off the mattress.

"Vee…so sorry, Señor Toro!" She hastily picked it up. The stuffed animal had only resided at Casa Roma for six months, but already the fur was matted and a little dirty. Lovina probably smothered it completely at night…Feliciana patted its head, rambling absent-mindedly.

"Ve! This year is going to be a good year! I know it! Lovi and me are going to have so much fun, because this summer was the best one ever – so only good can come after it, vee? Promise me, Señor Toro!" She held the bull away from her at an arm's length, fixing its glossy bead eyes with a stern look. "This year will be the best!"

"What the hell are you doing with that?"

Lovina stood framed in the doorway, fully dressed, hair damp, and frowning with suspicion. Feliciana bounced up like a spring.

"I'm just making a promise that this year will be better than any single one we've ever lived, Lovi!" She flung her arms around her sister, ignoring the yelps of reluctance.

"Ugh! Don't just drop that anywhere!" Lovina grabbed Señor Toro just before it hit the floor and held it to her chest protectively. "No respect for my stuff, honestly…"

Feliciana froze, one hand still clutching Lovina's shoulder, her eyes unfocused, nose and ears alert. Was it? It _was_…

"BISCOTTI!" She shrieked, causing Lovina to yell, and Feliciana heard her grandfather's deep-set laugh joining into the noise as she hurtled down the staircase, not bothering to stop in the now vacant bathroom to wash her face. Skidding into the kitchen, it was all she could do not to fling herself at the delicious biscuits coming out of the oven.

Grandpa Roma grinned and set the pan carefully onto a wire rack. "I knew my cutest granddaughter would be happy to see fresh biscotti!"

"You made it for me?" Feliciana eagerly leaned towards the food that beckoned to her so temptingly with its tendrils of sweet-smelling heaven. Her stomach felt like it had just opened up a huge hole on her belly that screamed,_ here! Just put 'em here already, veeeee!_

"Si, it's a big day for you…for all of us!"

Feliciana's ears perked up at the direction that the last phrase was directed to, and turned around to see her mother tiredly rubbing her forehead as she walked in.

"Mama! Buon giorno! Are you going to work today?"

Rita smiled and began pouring herself a mug of coffee. "That's right. This means break is officially over for everyone." Lovina begrudgingly slunk in, lured in by the promise of breakfast. Rita managed to plant a kiss on her eldest daughter's forehead before she pulled away.

"It's cool enough to eat now," Grandpa Roma announced as he placed the platter of almond goodness in the centre of the kitchen table. Lovina grabbed one before the plate even touched the surface, and was nearly done with it by the time the rest of the family had settled around her. After sating her whiny hole of a stomach, Feliciana paused, peering over the rim of her mug to watch the scene in front of her.

On her left was Grandpa, laughing and mussing up Lovina's hair as she continued scowling and munching resolutely through her meal. The only thing obscuring her from a clear view of her sister was the enormous milk pitcher between them – whose handle was now obscured by Rita's arm reaching for the jam. Feliciana watched as her mother spread the gooey sweet stuff over a slice of bread.

The entire family was here, for once. And it would stay that way. A full kitchen table, every day at exactly 7:22 AM for the next few months, no exceptions. Well, unless Lovina decided to visit Antonio at the farm. Oh! Antonio could just come over _here_! And Aunt Monica too! With Francis! Then it would be a real Roma family breakfast – okay, Roma family plus Antonio.

Except, Feliciana corrected herself, Francis was going to be away all the way until springtime. He was busy in Europe with Gillian and was going to spend the winter with his father and stepfamily. But that just meant that Ludwig's house would be significantly quieter too, so maybe some days he could also visit them, maybe even sleep over! And if he did, then he could try Grandpa's biscotti too! He'd love it! Nobody could resist fresh almond and anise biscotti first thing after waking up! With a great big cool glass of milk. Or coffee, Ludwig seemed like the coffee type of perso-

"Feli, don't just sit there like a dumb idiot! It takes twenty minutes to walk to school and you're not even dressed!"

"Vee?" Feliciana snapped out of her thoughts to glance up at the cheerful cat-clock on the wall. "Ahh! Only ten minutes! How did that go by so fast?"

"Because you were staring at the wall for the last five! Hurry up!" Lovina's eyes flickered out the window, and returned quickly to the interior of the house, shooting fiery bolts of venom. "And that stupid potato bastard's outside. Fuckin' A…"

"Language, Lovina," warned their mother. Though nobody in that household expected her to listen. Upon hearing that Ludwig was waiting for her at the gate, Feliciana had zoomed back up the stairs with surprising speed and was back before you could utter, "Feliciana loves Ludwig."

Lovina blinked at how a suddenly immaculate and stylish outfit, complete with a smooth auburn ponytail and perfectly applied mascara sailed past her through the front door, carelessly waving one hand with a cheerful, _Ciao!_

And here, Lovina hadn't even found the time to put on socks.

"Fuh. King. A."

She slammed her feet into a pair of worn-out sandals and shut the door behind them with only a fraction less of the same amount of force.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: For those who are new to the AU: Rita is Lovi and Feli's mother, and Monica is Francis's mother. They are also sisters, and daughters of Grandpa Roma. We can forget about Lovi and Feli's father; he's never coming back. Francis's father lives in France (divorced). Wow, that last sentence sounded a bit redundant…**

**R&R please! Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Exposition, exposition, exposition…I apologize for the "boringness" of this chapter. **

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.  
>Death of a Salesman belongs to Arthur Miller.<br>iPhone apps belong to Apple, I suppose.**

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><p>"Vee, why is there so much work already…"<p>

Feliciana hobbled along the sidewalk, struggling to keep her art portfolio afloat as she walked with Lovina and Ludwig towards school.

"Welcome to senior year."

"Bu…but I thought it was going to be easy! We get to take classes we _want_ to take!"

Lovina bit back a retort as Ludwig silently reached over and alleviated Feliciana of her burden. The younger sister brightened considerably as she straightened up.

"Thanks so much!"

He ignored Lovina's glare of doom as they crossed the street. Feliciana flittered between her two favourite people, grabbing a hand each.

"Still, even with all the work, it's been so fun! Don't you think we've had a great start, Lovi?"

"Mmm," was the grunted reply. But Lovina could not really argue. Antonio hadn't been able to visit as often, as his work kept him very preoccupied, but the first weeks of the school year had not been bad at all. Everybody else in their grade had returned from summer break absolutely unchanged, save for a few inches, tans, and a haircut or two.

The three of them entered the building, and suddenly were engulfed into a melee of students scurrying around with backpacks and binders. Feliciana gave her sister a breath-restricting hug before dragging Ludwig away towards their first class.

"Vee…why would they schedule history first thing in the morning? Most people aren't even completely awake yet!"

"I thought you liked Asian Studies," Ludwig remarked as they squeezed past a gaggle of ninth graders huddled outside a closed classroom door. The look on their faces still resembled deer-in-headlights as older students passed.

"They look so little! I can't believe we were that little too! Was I really that small?"

He shrugged, pulling on the handle of their classroom door. "Well…I didn't know you back then. So I don't know."

"Oh, that's right. But I'm sure that it wasn't very different for you, Ludwig! You're so big, everyone else must look little to you."

There wasn't much one could respond to that comment, and luckily nobody else who was already seated noticed his suppressed cringe. Feliciana made a beeline towards the end of the middle row, where a quiet girl was already seated.

"Good morning, Kiku!"

"Good morning, Feli-chan, Ludwig-san."

In front of them, Adam Smith sighed and scratched his nose absent-mindedly, ignoring the scar that was streaked across its bridge.

"Apparently our first big project gets assigned today. Hooray for us…not."

Next to him, Sanun Rattanakosin shrugged, a typical relaxed smile gracing his features. "If it's partners, want to be mine?"

"Sure."

The boys ended their conversation just in time. Mr. Dennis, the large yet sunny-dispositional instructor of the course, appeared at the door in mere seconds. Nodding affably at his students, he closed the door loudly and briskly walked to the front of the room.

"Greetings, my stalwart scholars. Well, with any luck, _awake_ at the very least. You've heard the rumours, I've heard the rumours, so perhaps there should be an end to these rumours."

Their teacher picked up a marker, uncapped it with his teeth and scribbled out the day's date on the whiteboard.

"September 12th. Asian Studies has commenced bi-weekly in your schedules for a bit over two weeks by now, so hopefully this means that I have not failed in my task as a teacher and you have a vague idea of what it means to study foreign history and culture. After all, this may come in handy one day for future careers.

"Since we started with the discussion of modern affairs, I hope you've come to understand how important it is to be aware of current events that occur around the world, and not just within your neighbourhood, your city, or even just your country. What happens out there could change something over here, so staying up to date is a very, very wise idea.

"And to avoid lecturing to a class whose minds are already halfway out the window, I've decided its high time to assign your first partnered project, and to give you the rest of the time to prep and research for it."

He paused in this speech to smartly pluck HK Wang's iPhone out of his hands.

"Unfortunately, this does _not_ entail Fruit Ninja." Mr. Dennis pocketed the device. "Come get this back at the end of the day. What will be included, however, are the skills of research, organization, and creativity."

He arched an eyebrow towards Sanun and Adam. "And I have no doubt that most of you _aren't_ lacking in that last category…"

Mr. Dennis reached over behind his desk to pick up a few long tubes of construction paper that had been waiting in a small basket, the mass of his belly swaying slightly. Feliciana leaned forwards in interest as he tucked one under his arm and unrolled another.

"Here I present to you lucky kids: the infamous Cartogram project! First, anyone know what a cartogram is?"

HK, bereft of his technological plaything, sullenly raised a hand. "Doesn't it just mean a map?"

"Correct in one aspect, but wrong in another, Mr. Wang." Mr. Dennis held up the poster. "Somebody describe this cartogram, kindly crafted by some of my former students. Miranda?"

"It's Maddie. As in, Madeleine?"

"….Oh, yes. I'm sorry."

The blonde girl pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Well…it's clearly a map of the world. But, um. It doesn't look like it's to scale. The countries are depicted by geometrical patterns because of the boxes, but some things are still off. For example, it looks like Malaysia and Taiwan are roughly the same size, though I think Malaysia _should_ be bigger…"

"Good observation. Did everybody hear that?" A few students looked up from their daydreams guiltily, whereas others blinked in confusion. "Megan is completely correct. A cartogram is a map in which landmass is relative to other aspects of the country that aren't exactly physical. For example, this cartogram, like the ones you all will soon be slaving away at, is based on population. You can see that China and India take up the most space. Each box represents a number of people, which is explained in the key that the students came up with themselves."

"Now _this_ particular finished product did a great job. Remember how I said not only research and organization was needed, but creativity as well. The guys who worked on this last year, as you can see, decorated their border with photos of different people from the countries they showed. Whereas these guys -" Mr. Dennis unrolled the other poster. "Didn't do such a neat and tidy job."

"However, they did include some interesting facts about the countries they chose, such as the differences between rural and urban populations, population by religion, by ethnicity, and so on. This gave them a few extra points too." Mr. Dennis tossed the projects back onto his desk carelessly before picking up the marker again.

"September 19th," he announced, scribbling the new date beneath the previous one. "One week to work on this – and I'm giving you as much creative liberty as you like, as long as you can deliver the thing back to me in one piece with all the needed information about it. In exactly fifteen seconds, you'll need something to write on, a partner, and a plan. And I'll brace myself for the sudden requests to go to the computer lab for research. Go!"

True to his words, the classroom exploded into life as students automatically began fighting over partners. Sanun and Adam snagged their permission slip to the computer lab just as Yong Soo dragged HK out the door. Ludwig turned to Feliciana shyly.

"Hey, Fel…"

"Kiku! Will you be my partner, vee?"

The Japanese girl smiled. "Thank you for asking me. That would be nice."

Ludwig sighed as his girlfriend happily bounced out of her seat, their other friend following closely behind her. He then felt a weight on his arm..

"Want to be partners?" Ivan smiled.

Ludwig glanced back at Feliciana, who was swinging her permission slip gaily in one hand, and nearly wringing Kiku's arm off with the other as the girls trotted out of the room. Ivan's hand was still on his shoulder, fingers squeezing in ever so slightly.

"Uhh…sure."

* * *

><p>"AARGH!"<p>

Eight hours later, Lovina kicked open the door of Casa Roma to angrily throw her backpack onto the floor.

"She gave me a four out of nine! A fucking FOUR!" She flung herself into the big armchair in the living room, muttering darkly to herself.

"Death of a Salesman, death of a fucking loser. Not my fault I can't muster up any sympathy for the stupid dying American dream. Sad fucker totally ditched his wife and his dumbass kids, completely alone…who wants to have a funeral surrounded by suck-ups and phonies anyway?"

Lovina finally looked up to see Feliciana and Kiku sitting by the coffee table, staring at her with surprise and uncertainty.

"Vee…sorella, are you feeling okay?"

"Better than Willy Loman," she retorted, snatching up her belongings and stalking up the staircase. Kiku nervously looked away.

"…I think, to make it easier, we can cut the boxes diagonally to show that it stands for 250,000 people, instead of 500,000."

Feliciana nodded, distracted. "Oh! I have an idea! Let's decorate the different countries by using the colours of their flags! And we can use watercolours and crayon, so it has a cool washed out effect. What do you think?"

Kiku picked up her notebook, where the list of countries they were going to portray and their populations were carefully listed. "No offense, Feli-chan…but I think that showing the information is more important, is it not?"

"Of course! But everyone will have the same thing anyway-" Here, Feliciana picked up the sheets of graphing paper and a pair of scissors. "So we have to make sure ours looks pretty too! Remember, Mr. Dennis wants creativity!"

"Also, it's something I'm good at," she admitted sheepishly, putting down the scissors to find a pencil. Kiku smiled at her.

"That's true, you are the best artist in the school. I also have an idea," she said, rummaging around in her own bag. After a small search, Kiku pulled out a small cardboard box.

"Vee? What's that?"

"Origami paper." Kiku carefully opened one end of the box and allowed the thin sheets to slide out onto the coffee table next to their project materials. "I also thought that since we're focusing on Asian countries, I could use the designs for an origami dragon and phoenix to decorate the outside of our poster."

"That's a wonderful idea!" Feliciana exclaimed excitedly, eagerly looking over the tiny, intricate patterns on the paper. "Can you teach me too?"

"Of course, Feli-chan. But first…"

"I know, I know, we have to cut out the countries first…" Feliciana looked down at their graph paper. The tiny green squares leered uninvitingly at her.

"How about we start with the largest populations? I will take China. You can start on India," Kiku suggested gently, though there was a hint of impatience in her tone.

"Oh! Right," Feliciana picked up her pencil again. Kiku nodded and bent over her own piece of paper, her shiny, dark bangs forming a perfectly straight curtain over her work. Feliciana couldn't help but pout. Why did the boring part always come before the fun stuff? She wondered how Ludwig was doing.

* * *

><p>"It's so nice to work together, da?" Ivan said brightly.<p>

Ludwig was busy feeling thankful that Gillian did not know - and hopefully would never know - that the Russian was in her house. Sitting at the chair she usually claimed for herself at dinner, too.

"It's almost like we are friends, like very good friends. Almost as good friends as me and Yao were, before he went away."

"Umm…"

"I miss him. And my sister. Do you miss your sister too?" Ivan continued pleasantly.

"Erm," Ludwig was unsure how to answer this. "Not really."

"Oh, that's sad."

"I didn't mean it like that. She calls home…quite often. Too often, maybe." He couldn't believe he was having this conversation with Ivan. In his house. In their dining room. With Ivan in Gillian's old chair.

Honestly, she probably would have a fit and would try to burn the thing. Which then reminded him of that one Christmas when the electric candle ornaments on the tree were deemed not awesome enough, so she'd stolen them and replaced them all with real _lit_ candles…

His eyes automatically flickered upwards to the scorch marks in the corner. Ivan followed his gaze.

"Ooh, what's that from?"

"...Nevermind!" Ludwig hastily turned back to the task at hand. "So, about these graphs…"

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><p><strong>AN: This project is straight out of my own high school experiences, down to the origami decorations and the fancy colour scheme…though **_**I**_** severely lack in the visual arts department. Luckily, my partner went on to take AP Art. While I spent about a year drawing Kirby instead of people. Pink blob anatomy is so much easier than human!**

**I just kind of smushed a bunch of different characters together – they're not all in the same grade. Don't know if this applies to other schools, but in my high school, beginning in junior year we could more or less choose classes based on what needed to be filled, with the mandatory stuff already done with in the first two years. This way, you could also take two history courses at once if you wished – like I imagine Ludwig is doing here C:**

**Lovina has very strong opinions, so I think English – where you get to argue hotly about your interpretation of the text more or less unopposed – would be one of her favourite subjects xD**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: The slow descent into drama. Mostly uncharted territory for me. Here I take my first, perilous step!**

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.**

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><p>The night before it was due, Ludwig was putting the finishing touches on his and Ivan's project when his father knocked on the door to inform him that he had a call.<p>

"Vee, Ludwig, how long did it take you to cut out your countries?"

He wedged the receiver under his chin and continued typing. "Oh, Ivan and I decided to keep it simple and didn't try to attempt making them in the exact same shape. We thought that would be too hard."

"It_ is _hard!" Back in her room, Feliciana carefully brushed red paint over the yellow star of Vietnam's flag. "But I really wanted to make it look nice, vee. We even cut some boxes in half so there can be curves!"

"Mhmm."

"I can't wait to show you our poster! I think you'll like the origami. Did you know it takes four separate pieces just to make a dragon? And you have to be so careful with the folding! But we picked this really nice pattern. From far away it looks like pink, but it's actually teeny tiny flowers on a creamy-white background. We both thought it was the best idea because our poster background is black! So then for the phoenix, we used yellow and red because it's supposed to be about fire and stuff, right?"

"Ja, I think so."

"It's just so really cool! I'm painting our countries right now! What are you doing?"

"I'm typing up the extra facts we looked up. I'll just staple it to the back of our poster…"

"Vee…that's so boring! Why don't you make it stick out at the bottom like those advertisements?"

He stopped typing, thinking over what she'd just said. "…That's actually a good idea, thanks."

"You're welcome!"

Ludwig glanced at the clock. "Hey, it's pretty late, Feli. I think I'll go to bed soon…"

"Vee! But I have only started painting!"

"Well, then you'd better hurry up." Feliciana could hear Ludwig's printer turn on through the earpiece. "I don't want you to be too tired tomorrow."

"Ahh, thanks!"

Ludwig did have a point. There were still at least a third of the countries left to paint, as well as the origami to paste on, AND a title to create. But it was already 11:40 PM. Perhaps she shouldn't have watched that movie earlier with Lovina and the rest of the family…but it was so fun to cozy up together like that on the couch! It wasn't her fault that it had used up most of her evening because it had ended so sadly, with the clown-girl and her trumpet, and the man crying in the sand…Feliciana had bawled for half an hour straight afterwards too.

She finished her painting not long after ending the call with Ludwig. Carefully wiping the edges with a damp cloth, Feliciana began to arrange the origami animals around the side. This project was going to look so good!

"Why the hell are you still doing up?"

Lovina, fresh from brushing her teeth, stood in Feliciana's doorway in gruff surprise.

Another glance at the clock told her it was now seven minutes past midnight. "Vee…the Asian Studies project is due tomorrow!"

"Procrastination, huh?"

"Yup!" Feliciana smiled apologetically as she reached for the glue.

"Well, don't let me bother you." Lovina's pink nightgown puffed up behind her as she marched away.

"Buona notte!" Feliciana called back after her.

One long session of hard work later, Feliciana was ready to pass out right then and there, at her desk. Still, she was very proud of everything she'd accomplished that night. When she finished tidying away all the scrap paper and brushes, there were a few moments set aside for admiring the poster.

"Hmm…but something looks like it's missing…"

She narrowly missed the white post-it note (designed like a bunny! Kiku owned the cutest things!) that had been stuck beneath all the paper.

_Feli, thanks for finishing the project. Don't forget the key and list of populations._

…Of course she'd forgotten something. At least it wasn't too late by this point…

But when she blinked wearily at the clock again, Feliciana could hardly suppress a yawn when it informed her that it was nearly one in the morning. Sticking the post-it smack at the top of her bulletin board, Feliciana sternly told herself to finish up this last part when she woke up.

She even made her mental voice sound like Ludwig, so she would listen to it!

That's when she dove beneath the sheets, blacking out almost immediately.

* * *

><p>"FELI!"<p>

Feliciana was, for some unfathomable reason, startled awake by some other sound. Sitting up, she sighed, wondering what could possibly be the problem.

"Feli, stop sitting there, goddamnit!"

"Vee?"

"It's 7:38, you idiot! Get up! You made me late!"

"What?" Feliciana frantically kicked her legs free from the blankets. "Oh, no!"

"If we have to fucking _run_ to school, I am going to take all of your socks! Just the left ones! And you'll never find them!"

"Ahh! Wait, Lovi!" Feliciana tripped over a book lying on the floor and flailing, grabbed a corner of her desk to steady herself. The sudden movement made everything wobble precariously. The poster rolled off the top.

"Vee, I'm so sorry!" Feliciana quickly rolled the big paper up, using one of her own hair-ties to bind it together. "Are you done with the bathroom?"

As her sister shouted something angrily incoherent from the hall, Feliciana bolted out with her clothes. On her bulletin board, a smiling rabbit note had been hanging by an ear. When the door slammed shut, the force was enough to cause it to fall straight into the gap, and it disappeared behind the desk.

* * *

><p>Thankfully, the two of them reached Hetalia High just barely on time, so Feliciana's socks were safe. She slid into her seat happily with the finished project. Everybody else was chatting excitedly and showing each other their work.<p>

Kiku was already waiting for her. "Did you finish alright?"

"Yep!" Feliciana patted the rolled-up poster. "Stayed up really late doing it too!"

"Good, good." Kiku pulled out her folder for that class, which was decorated with lemons and frogs. "I was feeling a little bad, because you did most of the work by the end…"

"Oh, don't worry about it, vee! After all, you did most of the research stuff." Feliciana smiled up at Ludwig. "Good morning, Luddy!"

"Hi…" He pulled out the chair and plopped heavily into it. Feliciana's smile froze when Ivan automatically took the seat right next to him, also grinning happily.

"Vee…" Feliciana hurriedly turned back to her other best friend. "Kiku! We should start thinking about what to dress up for on Halloween!"

"But…isn't that over a month away, Feli-chan?"

"That gives us more time to make really good costumes, vee! How about…something all three of us can do?"

Kiku looked thoughtful, but Mr. Dennis arrived before she could say anything.

"Looks like everyone's here bright and early for handing in their projects. Oh, you obedient little gremlins, you." Their heavyset teacher straightened his tie. "But before any of that happens, there are quite a few announcements to make. So sit tight for fifteen minutes. I'll collect them all after we're done."

As Mr. Dennis began reading off his list of school news, Feliciana unrolled their poster. The effect of the paint and origami was absolutely lovely against their plain black background. Kiku looked over and nodded approvingly. Feliciana beamed.

She leaned over to look at the one Ludwig and Ivan had created. Though far more simple looking, the boys had included much more information. Feliciana was happy to see that Ludwig had taken her advice, leaving a neat row of fringe at the bottom of the poster that was filled with bits of trivia.

As her eyes travelled up the side of Ludwig's poster, her smile faded. There, in the upper right hand corner, was a box filled with Ludwig's neatly formatted typing – the cartogram's key, with a complete list of the populations of the countries.

Remembering the bunny post-it note with a horrible jolt, Feliciana panicked.

"Vee, Ludwig?" she whispered, fixing her most innocent, pleading face. "Can I look at yours for a minute?"

He nodded, not really looking her way. She smiled in relief.

_Total Country Population (estimation)  
><em>_China – 1340 million  
><em>_India – 1210 million  
><em>_Indonesia – 238 million  
><em>_Bangladesh – 151 million  
><em>_Japan – 128 million…_

Whipping out a piece of pink stationary paper – Feliciana was _very _grateful that Kiku always owned cute things, and was so nice to give her some too – to write on, Feliciana hastily began to scribble down the information. Ludwig remained oblivious, listening attentively to Mr. Dennis.

"…And the student council has come up with our very first spirit day of the year – the ever popular classic Twin Day, which will be next Thursday. Remember, you don't have to delegate it to merely twins – we've had triplets, quadruplets, even nine people dressed all the same at once. Or, you can pull a Mathias Kohler like last year and claim that you lost your twin."

Feliciana stopped to laugh with the rest of the class. She remembered that last year – the former senior had tried to participate in every Spirit Day. When Ingrid had point-blank refused to be his "twin," Mathias created a sign saying, _I LOST MY TWIN!_ and taped it to his shirt. It was actually pretty funny.

"Well, that's about it. Get ready to hand these in!"

The rest of the class slowly began to stir. The ones who had been awake busily fussed with their finished projects, whilst those who had been nodding off stretched, reluctantly gearing up to face the day. Feliciana hurried to finish writing. Why did they have to pick the biggest continent, really?

"Adam and Sanun…Yong Soo and HK…Kim and Margaret..."

"It's Madeleine," she sighed.

"…Feliciana?"

She jerked her head up to see her history teacher staring at her over the rim of his glasses.

Mr. Dennis's voice had lost its amiable loquaciousness. "What are you doing?"

Kiku, Ludwig and Ivan were watching her, wide-eyed.

"Um…"

"See me after class." He scooped up the projects. "You too, Ludwig."

Feliciana felt her cheeks burn as their teacher walked away to collect other projects, no longer wearing his friendly smile.

Turning back to her friends, she tried to explain herself. "I-I…"

Kiku cast her eyes down at her folder, one finger tracing a lemon. Ludwig looked away, but not before Feliciana caught the flash of anger streaking across his face. Only Ivan continued staring at her, this time with renewed curiosity.

Feliciana slunk down into her seat.

* * *

><p>"See ya, Mr. D," Adam called out as he left. The teacher waved back absent-mindedly before turning his full attention onto the two students before him.<p>

"Feliciana. What were you thinking?"

"I…" She nervously glanced up at Ludwig, who was determinedly staring straight ahead. "I just forgot!"

"But was Ludwig your partner on the project?"

"N-no."

"Who was?"

"Kiku…"

"Did Kiku know about this?"

"Um…n…no…"

"Ludwig, did you know about this?"

"No."

Mr. Dennis sighed. "I'm extremely disappointed in you, Feliciana."

"V-vee?"

"You still don't understand what's happened?" Now, his voice was clipped and irritated.

"Well, I…I didn't think…"

"What you just did, Feliciana, constitutes as cheating," he told her gravely. Ludwig turned to look at him in alarm. "Copying another's work without their consent. And even if you did have his consent, then _both_ of you would be in _deeper_ trouble."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh dear.**

**If it isn't blatantly obvious by now, Hetalia High is based on my old school – because it's what I experienced. We had lots of Spirit Days throughout the year. Twin Day was usually a staple. But the best one, in my opinion, was Superhero Day (Alfred: OMFGYES!) when 15 of us plus a teacher dressed up as X-Men. That was really, really awesome. I made armbands for everyone too!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.**

* * *

><p>Feliciana and Ludwig gaped at Mr. Dennis in horror. Their history teacher surveyed them severely for a few more minutes, allowing the words to sink in.<p>

"I'm going to have to tell Mr. Hubbard and the other people at the office. And they will inform your families."

"Does this go on our personal records?" Ludwig asked anxiously. Mr. Dennis shrugged.

"Normally, it would. But ultimately it's up for our principal to decide," he told him. A glint of light on his watch caught his eye.

"I know you're late for your next classes, but don't worry about it. I'll write you passes. However," he stated firmly, before either student could leave, "I expect both of you to act like responsible adults. You have to let your families know about this before they are contacted by the school. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Ludwig replied. Feliciana nodded.

"That's all." Mr. Dennis opened the door for them, and they filed out.

Second period had been in session for a good while by then, so the halls were completely empty. Feliciana sighed.

"Vee...that was so scary!"

Ludwig merely began heading towards his jogged to keep up with Ludwig's long strides.

"Mr. Dennis was so mean, wasn't he? It's not that bad…I didn't even know it was wrong…"

He spun the combination, and shoved books inside, sighing deeply. Then he began to walk away without saying a word.

"W-wait! Are you mad at me?"

"Just go to class, Feli."

"Bu…but why?"

"Because it's been over ten minutes in, and I'm not adding that to today's list of unfortunate events, okay?"

"We're already late! It doesn't matter…it's not a big deal..."

She nearly crashed into him when he skidded to a complete halt.

"It's not a big deal?" He wheeled around and glared at her. Feliciana felt her blood run cold. "Look, you wouldn't know anything about it, but having your last name as Beilschmidt after Gillian's gone through every teacher before you makes it hard to earn people's trust. I've always needed to show people that I'm _nothing_ like her."

Feliciana was now more confused than anything else. "Vee…what does this have to do with Gilly?"

"N-nothing." He turned around, slightly embarrassed but still upset. "Just leave me alone, Feliciana."

"But!"

"But what?"

"I… I just thought you could help me-"

"…Are even registering what just happened back there?" Ludwig waved one arm wildly back down the hall. "Is that all you can seriously think of? Yourself?"

"Bu-"

"I've stood up for you when people laugh at you behind your back or say stuff about you or your sister – hell, I endured _Lovina_ just for you - and I've never said no when you say you need help with, with homework or _anything_ you ask me to!"

"Bu…" She floundered for the right answer, but what was the right thing to say? "I-it's because you're always so nice, vee…"

"That doesn't give you the right to walk all over me! Did you think I was going to spend the rest of my life cleaning up your messes? Like _now_?"

"You...It's just that...I thought you wouldn't mind i-"

"_What?_"

He was shouting by now. People were staring out of classroom windows. Feliciana couldn't move, out of terror.

"You've been _using _me! I can't trust you anymore. SHIT, Feliciana!"

Ludwig had never, ever cursed at her before.

"Enough of this!" A third voice entered the fray, and Mrs. Tackett stepped in between the students, eyes flashing in outrage. "Get to class right now, Mr. Beilschmidt. I'll see you after school in detention. I expected more from you."

Ludwig shot Feliciana one more fierce, dark look before storming away from her.

"Miss Vargas, you too. Before I decide that you should join him."

That, she wouldn't mind. She'd do it, she definitely would. But instead, Feliciana felt her foot lift up off the floor, and her legs guided her in the opposite direction.

* * *

><p>By the end of the day, Lovina was in a pretty foul mood. Between having her morning rushed and all the frantic whispering around her, it looked like the universe had finally reverted to playing their favourite game: Let's-Pick-On-Lovina-Shall-We. She wanted to blame it on the tomato idiot. Ever since he left, things had gotten significantly less tolerable.<p>

But it sounded as if Feliciana had finally broken up with the potato bastard. About time.

...Unless he had done the breaking. Which meant it would be potato salad for dinner tonight.

...Lovina hated potato salad. With a passion.

So she realized that she found herself hoping that the rumours were seriously unfounded. Then she'd just go scream at whoever came up with such a ridiculous idea. Did they not see how her dumb sister clung to the guy? Lovina had been trying to unglue them for over a year now.

"Hey, Lovina…is it true about-"

She whipped around to stare down yet another curious, yet unfortunate soul who dared bother her about the situation. He wilted instantly.

It was definitely time to find Feliciana, who she hadn't seen since the start of the day. There had been no trace of her at lunch.

Lovina strode purposefully towards the lockers. People dodged out of her way, noticing her determined expression.

"…In there, crying…omigod…I felt so awkward…"

She backtracked, shot the nervous gaggle of girls her best scowl, and kicked the washroom door open.

"Feli, come out."

The plastic door on the end stall swung open immediately. Feliciana practically jumped into Lovina's unprepared arms.

"H-he hates me!"

Lovina busily pushed the strands of ponytail out of Feliciana's face. "His loss. Let's clean up."

"Vee….a-and Loviii…"

"What."

"Th-the teachers want to have a meeting with mama and grandpa…"

"Why? Did he hurt you?" She clenched her fist, ready to kick some German butt if need be. Actually, even if it wasn't necessary, she'd still do it. As a favour. "That asshole son of a -"

"No! It's, it's because..." Feliciana looked down at her shoes in shame. "...I got in trouble."

Lovina stopped and shot her a suspicious look. So, perfect Feli_ could_ do something wrong after all?

* * *

><p>Feliciana held out the paper shakily.<p>

"They want you to go to meet with the principal next week, vee…"

Her mother accepted it wordlessly. Grandpa Roma stood next to her, his typically laughing mouth now drawn downwards in sorrow. Lovina watched from her slouch in the armchair.

Rita sighed and handed the note to Grandpa Roma, who just stared at it with a lost expression.

"Feli...what happened?"

"I didn't realize it!" she wailed. "It's true, promise!"

Rita sighed. "Feli, I've told you to think of the consequences of your actions before. You can't simply go dive into something blindly. You can't assume that people will believe you and let you go free from something."

"But..." Feliciana's face scrunched up in confusion and worry. "If I...if I didn't know, I'm not actually doing anything wrong, am I?"

"Just because you didn't intend something doesn't mean it's not wrong."

"But, vee, that's not fair!"

Rita folded her arms and frowned down at her daughter. "Feliciana, stop whining. I thought I raised you better than this. You can't avoid taking responsibility for the things you do."

Feliciana rubbed her nose regretfully. Everything was simply happening too quickly. It was so difficult to understand what exactly was going on. What she was feeling most upset about was the fact that everyone was treating this as if it was the end of the world. There had to be more to life than school, right? Why didn't _Ludwig_ understand that?

Her mother spoke again. "This meeting with Mr. Hubbard can't be a good sign." Walking to the side of Lovina's armchair, she began muttering fiercely. "And on Monday morning too. Just when the first editorial meeting was scheduled, and I'll have to tell them that I can't make it thanks to all of this…"

"Mama, I'm _sorry_ already!"

"No, you're not." Rita pulled out her agenda and began flipping through the pages. "You're only sorry that you're in trouble, but I don't think you understand why you're in such trouble."

Oh. Well. That was actually exactly what she was thinking.

"Vee…mama…"

Rita frowned as she scratched out a date. "Honestly, Feli. _You_ were the one I always expected to be able to stay out of trouble..."

Lovina's eyes, previously half-lidded and only half-focused on the discussion at hand, suddenly snapped open. Sitting up, she looked over at her mother with a strange expression before jumping out of the chair and running out of the room.

Unfortunately, Rita didn't notice any of this and merely took up Lovina's recently vacated seat, scribbling down notes into the planner. Feliciana glanced back at Grandpa Roma, who was still regarding her with that awful, unhappy stare. Above her head, she could hear the heavy thuds of Lovina stomping her way up to her bedroom.

It was, really, the...

* * *

><p>"…Worst day of my entire life, veee!" she moaned, flopping onto Lovina's bed. The girls had finished a very unpleasantly silent supper a few hours earlier. It was a sad, sad time when nobody in the household seemed even remotely eager for the weekend, Feliciana decided.<p>

"Mmf," grunted her sister. Lovina's eyes and fingers were glued to her laptop, as usual. Feliciana fiddled with Señor Toro's ears.

"Lovi…why is everyone making it such a big deal? It's only one project, vee…"

"It's a big deal because everyone goes batshit insane about plagiarism, and we go to a hard-ass school."

"Vee…Well…" Feliciana set the toy bull down, and dropped her face down into the pillow. "Ludwig won't talk to me!"

"Good. I don't see how that's an issue."

"But Lovi! He's my best friend, vee!" Feliciana looked over at her sister's back. "And my boyfriend! Everyone's going to say things about us! Lovi, can you even imagine not having a best friend? It would be so lonely and sad-"

The tap-tap-tapping of Lovina's keyboard abruptly stopped. To Feliciana's surprise, she swivelled around in her chair and laughed.

It wasn't like her normal laughs – though few and far between – which bordered on hysterics and screaming. Whenever Lovina _lacked_ in volume and pitch, one had to be suspicious. Feliciana was extremely confused. Why was Lovina laughing when she clearly didn't find anything funny?

"Um, yeah. That's really difficult to imagine."

"Vee? It is?"

"No! Geez!" Lovina swung back towards her computer. "Goddamnit, Feli, when are you going to understand the concept of sarcasm? You're just like that stupid tomato bastard."

"Vee…I thought you liked Antonio…"

"The point is," Lovina said bluntly, "Is that yes, I'm very aware of how it feels to be alone. And talked about. Behind my back. For the past seven fucking years. Capisce?"

Feliciana was still mystified. "Huh?"

"Trust me, you don't need to worry about something like that. And honestly, if you do…" Lovina's eyes hardened as she stared at her monitor. "…I have to admit that I don't really fucking care anymore."

Feliciana sat up in distress. "Lovi? Are you mad at me?"

"It'd be nice if the world finally sees that you can do_ something_ wrong," Lovina mumbled.

"L-Lovi?"

The tapping resumed, albeit faster and more angrily. "I'm done being your scapegoat, okay? Get out of my room."

"But Lovi!"

"GET THE FUCK OUT!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This took...lots and lots of rewriting. Very very hard for me. And I'm STILL not sure about it. Some feedback would be really awesome. Thanks!**

**At my school, cheating/plagiarism meant suspension. Detention was for things like forgetting homework, being late, unruly behavior, uniform slip-ups…well, if any of the above happened 3+ times. Do we sound harsh? :3 Well, it gets the point across.**

**Oh, I have a new poll up. That has nothing to do with this story, but another writing endeavour I want to take on. So if anyone would answer that, it would be really great. Thank you!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.  
>Great Expectations belongs to Charles Dickens.<strong>

* * *

><p>Feliciana chewed at the end of her pen, staring at the bleak walls in front her. She'd spent the better part of last weekend being scared witless of the impending doom o f suspension, but her fears had been unfounded.<p>

This was because honestly, the biggest and worst thing about suspension was that it was _boring_.

Incredibly, horribly, mind-bogglingly, and painfully B-O-R-I-N-G!

All they wanted you to do was sit there for the entire duration of the school day, doing as much homework and studying as possible. This was actually all well and good for Feliciana, who needed to catch up on quite a lot of reading…but if only the office they had plopped her into wasn't so depressingly drab and mind-stifling. She imagined her brain melting, oozing through her skull and dripping out her earholes. The thought even managed to produce a giggle.

"Ew," she mumbled.

Her head automatically jerked up, and she nervously peered around the corner at the secretary in the hallway. The secretary's head drooped lower towards her own desk. Clearly, Feliciana was not alone in succumbing to lethargy.

Not feeling particularly inspired to read another chapter of _Great Expectations_, her thoughts drifted back to the beginning of the day. Feliciana had been required to accompany her mother to the meeting with the principal, which had been scheduled at an absurdly early hour. She was sure her internal clock was now running completely out of order.

"Feliciana, I hope you don't think we're picking on you," Mr. Hubbard had said gently. "I can see how you might feel that this is unfair, but the truth is that cheating is a very serious offence. We are obligated to adhere to the school rules, without exception. Do you understand?"

She nodded mutely. Her mother turned to her with a tired expression.

"Feli, this just means you must think about what you're about to do before you do it. We're punishing you harshly now because in the future - perhaps at a job - the consequences would be even bigger."

Feliciana nodded again. This she understood. It would be horrible if one day, people thought she'd purposefully copied somebody else's designs. That would be downright _awful_.

"Does this go on her academic record?"

Mr. Hubbard flipped through the rules handbook. "Unfortunately, yes. I'm sorry this has to come at a time when the transcript is so important, but…"

"…We understand," Rita said.

"Well, Feliciana, perhaps you should go get your books and things from your locker. We can give you the spare office for the day."

As she stood up with her mother, Mr. Hubbard stopped them briefly.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Feliciana, I need to ask you something. Please be honest." His grey eyes were very grave as he watched her pick up her bag. "Am I correct that Ludwig truly wasn't aware you were copying his work?"

She nodded for the third time, feeling her stomach churn. Perhaps something in her breakfast jam hadn't suited her.

He gave her a small smile. "That's a relief. I feel a lot better knowing I won't have to penalize anybody else. I'll just tell him when he comes in with his own parents later."

That's when the guilt truly kicked in. Ludwig had a meeting too? Did he also have to wake up way ahead of time? Feliciana walked slowly down the empty hallway, feet and heart feeling like lead.

The sound of her pumps tapping on the linoleum gradually faded away when she saw the lone figure standing along the row of metal boxes.

Ludwig swung open his door and placed a textbook inside. Looking up, the two stared at one another.

"Ludwig?" They both gave a start as Mrs. Beilschmidt appeared at the end of the hallway.

"Hurry up. Mr. Hubbard is waiting for us."

He silently closed the locker door and spun the combination close. Ludwig walked towards his parents, refusing to look at her even when his arm clipped her shoulder, causing her to stagger backwards a step or two.

He really _did_ hate her...

Back in the stuffy little office, Feliciana lifted her head with a sigh. The rest of the morning had slogged on by at glacial speed. She looked up at the clock for the umpteenth time.

11:21 AM. It wasn't even lunch period yet. Feliciana groaned and picked up her book. Time to see what Pip and Herbert were up to now.

* * *

><p>It was as if the day was never going to end, but Feliciana managed to make it until the very last bell. Stuffing all the books back into her back, she eagerly slipped out the doors of the office and into the throng. The swarm of students leaving their own classrooms made it difficult to get anywhere quickly, but Feliciana finally squeezed her way towards the senior lockers.<p>

Since many of her classmates had been lucky enough to angle their schedules for the year as to get study hall for their final period, there were fewer students hanging around the space allotted to their class.

Feliciana snuck past Alfred Jones, a basketball casually propped under his arm, who was making an attempt to engage Natalya Arlovskaya in conversation.

"Vee…Kiku!"

The short Asian girl seemed to stiffen at the sound of her name. Feliciana hurried towards her.

"Hey! Sorry I wasn't around today, vee!" She swung her book bag absent-mindedly back and forth. "It was really boring. Do you want to go and hang out? I'm reeaaally hungry, let's go to the café and-"

Kiku cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Ahh…I'm sorry, Feli."

The bag abruptly stopped and hung there awkwardly.

"It's just…I don't…ah, I'm busy today."

There was a loud smacking sound, and Alfred scrambled to retrieve his fallen glasses before chasing his basketball, which was rolling speedily away towards the auditorium. Kiku turned to watch him trip down the hall, but Feliciana had the strange feeling that she just didn't want to look at her. That was worrying. Was there an embarrassing stain on her shirt, perhaps? No. Why was she acting so oddly?

"Vee? Really? What do you have to do?"

"…Ahh…" Kiku's brown eyes darted nervously at the exit. "I have…a tutor. And I need to walk Pochi."

"Tutoring? For what? You're so smart already! What time are they coming? I like Pochi, can we walk him together?"

It was unmistakable, Kiku certainly looked the other way this time.

"Thank you for the offer, but…maybe next time." Kiku clutched her books to her chest. "I really can't."

Feliciana felt her spirits sink. "…vee, okay. Can we meet up tomorrow then?"

Kiku had already taken a few steps away, but paused to answer. "I'll think about it."

Feliciana was too upset to notice that a tall boy with tousled brown hair joined her friend at the door, leaving the school with her. After a year of near-constant companionship, the girls had gotten to know each other fairly well. Enough for Feliciana to understand what Kiku really meant by "next time" or "thinking about it."

Finally, Feliciana began to feel legitimately frightened.

* * *

><p>Thank God it was Friday. Feliciana glumly left her math class and slowly headed towards the cafeteria. It used to be one of her favourite moments of the school day, when she could take a moment to relax with her friends and chat about whatever subject came to mind.<p>

But now, with both Ludwig and Kiku avoiding her, lunch wasn't fun at all. Luckily, Feliciana wasn't completely alone. She watched as Lovina resolutely shovelled ravioli into her mouth across from her.

Not alone, but still no fun. It was the same thing at home. Feliciana felt that it was almost as if they had returned to the beginning of junior year, when Lovina hardly said a word to anybody and just went home directly after school. Except instead of lounging around the living room, her sister would stomp up to her room and shut herself in, only coming out at mealtimes. Feliciana had felt worried, especially when the sounds of yelling permeated through the walls. But it turned out that she'd been on the phone with Antonio…so everything seemed fairly normal, in spite of the lack of familial communication.

Blinking in surprise, Feliciana realized that Lovina was clamping the lid of her lunch container shut and beginning to stand up. "Vee? Lovi, where are you going?"

"Magazine club meeting," she replied brusquely, shoving the box away.

"You're in the magazine club?" Feliciana's curiosity was piqued. "Did you tell mamma, vee? She can help you and stuff!"

Lovina was shouldering her bright pink backpack. "Mmf. Like she'd care. Just mind your own beeswax, okay? I can deal with my own life."

Feliciana watched her toss out the empty juice box before coming to a revelation. "Wait! Lovi, if you go, I'll be by myself!"

"So?"

"Vee, I don't want to sit here alone!" Feliciana grabbed a dangling backpack strap. "Can you just ask about it later, or something?"

"No. Get off, goddamnit!" Lovina angrily pulled away. "Stop being such a baby!"

Lovina was not particularly well known for being soft-spoken or gentle, so Feliciana had to deal with a few stares as her sister marched out of the cafeteria. Face burning, she returned to her own lonely lunch. Grandpa's excellent cooking tasted bland without the flavouring of company.

Making quick work of her ravioli, Feliciana realized there was a full fifteen minutes left in the block with nothing to do. After sitting quietly at the silent table for a while, she stood up and left the cafeteria.

As soon as she was outside, Feliciana realized that she had no idea of where to go. But she'd better find a purpose fast, before Mrs. Tackett could discover what seemed to be an aimless loafer wandering about.

With that thought in mind, Feliciana winced nervously and automatically began to walk. Her feet led her around corners and down hallways until they halted in front of a bright red door. She pushed it open and stepped inside.

"Feliciana! You're early!"

The art teacher waved at her from across the sunny room. There were three long tables lying perpendicular to Ms. Diell's large wooden one. The stereo in the corner hummed out a lazy tune, a stack of CDs popular amongst the students perched precariously next to it. All along the walls were shelves of student work, jam jars filled with brushes of varing size, colourful fat tubes of paint, and many random knick-knacks for sketching. Humerus, the resident skeleton – stolen from the biology classroom a year before – had been remodelled into a lovely assortment of multi-coloured bones.

Ms. Diell dabbed at the paper in front of her with a palette knife. "Class doesn't begin for more than ten minutes."

Feliciana walked over to look at her painting. Ms. Diell smiled and nodded towards it.

"It's for the Painting I class. They're getting along very quickly, I have to say." She looked at her student quizzically. "Do you have a reason for being here, Feliciana?"

"Vee…I…wanted to work on my portfolio." Honestly, she hadn't a clue. In fact, she was a little surprised at herself for actually remembering that AP Art would be her next class. Her feet had simply brought her here. Then again, it _was_ her best and favourite subject…and her favourite classroom and teacher. Feliciana began to feel some of the fear and dismay inside of her melting as she looked around at the inviting messiness that surrounded her.

"Is that okay?"

"Of course!" Ms. Diell wiped her fingers on a cloth. "You're welcome to come whenever you like."

That settled it. Feliciana went over to the wall of drawers and found her work. Pulling it over to a table, she picked up a pencil and bent her head over the paper.

From then on, this became a habit. She would go to lunch and eat her food in silence. Then, as Lovina pretended to ignore her, nose stuck in a book, Feliciana would gather her things and head straight towards the warm, colourful room, where there were only pencil lines and pastels to deal with.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, it's not very long...hope you still enjoyed it! Poor Feli. :C**

**I always thought Lovi would want to be a journalist, like her mom. I don't know why, it just appealed to me…it's kind of like I said in chapter 2 – she has lots of strong opinions and would enjoy writing about it. And ahh, the art room. Though not an art student, I often went there after school to watch my friends. I actually used the place to do my own homework too – doing a pre-calc retest surrounded by people painting and drawing is much more calming. Good vibes, good times!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: On the other side of the rift…**

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.  
>Animal Crossing belongs to Nintendo.<strong>

* * *

><p>Ludwig welcomed his weekend with open arms. It was now October - fairly early in the school year, but things were already piling up. Not only was schoolwork still of utmost importance, but if he wanted to make the early admission deadline for universities, he'd better get started on them right now.<p>

His parents were busy, too. Currently, they were away at some sort of business convention. This gave him the rare leisure of being in charge of the house...which was something that wouldn't even be an option if Gillian were still around. Ludwig felt like a terrible brother for thinking it, but there were definitely moments when he was happy she had left.

So that Saturday afternoon, he took a break from preparing resumes to prepare his own lunch. The house was quiet. Serene. Comforting. He was completely alone. In the kitchen, Ludwig was pouring himself a glass of orange juice when there was a sharp knock on the front door.

Feeling very puzzled, he went to open it. To his shock, Ivan was standing on his welcome mat, beaming and holding out a crispy, orange-brown leaf.

"Привет! This is for you! It was falling off a tree, and I caught it before it hit the ground. It means you'll have good luck for the rest of the day!"

"Ah…thank you. Um…" Ludwig accepted it awkwardly. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, since we are friends now, I thought we could have lunch together." Ivan stepped inside and began to unwind his scarf. "I also looked in your letter-box. You have some postcards."

"Oh…wait...!" Ludwig craned his neck around the door to peer into the wooden box. It was empty. "What postcards?"

"These ones!" Ludwig looked back just in time to see Ivan patting his pocket before entering the kitchen. Hastily closing the door, he followed him.

"Are you hungry? I am." Ivan ambled over to the refrigerator, opening it up. "What do you feel like eating?"

"Uhh…I was just about to make a sandwich…"

"Sounds good to me!" Ivan began to pull out all sorts of ingredients, from ham to tomatoes to lettuce. Ludwig hurried to help.

In a very short amount of time, the boys were sitting across from one another at the dining table, silently munching away at their food. Ludwig wondered, for the umpteenth time, _where_ the postcards were from. He was fairly certain _who_ had written them.

Ivan wiped his fingers and pulled them out. "So many. Why couldn't she have just written a letter?"

As Ludwig reached over to grab them, he continued talking. "I don't really like Gillian very much. Occasionally, she'd say some rather mean things to me. Francis was much nicer, but sometimes he's confusing. I wish Yao would send me postcards…"

"Engineering majors don't have much free time," Ludwig found himself explaining. He picked up the first postcard. It was a simple painting of one of Amsterdam's canals. The other side was loaded with scribbles.

_HEY BRUDER! We're in the nether Netherlands!_

_Haha, just kidding. Amsterdam's in the north part, actually. We've been so excited because we heard Amsterdam is super awesome. Well yeah, it's got nice buildings, super old stuff, pretty canals and lots of biking (Francis and I used up one day to rent bikes and ride around, it was awesome!) but the real thing…you know…OMG DUTCH COFFEESHOPSSSS_

_But it turns out that they don't let foreigners do it! So unawesome! Guess I'll just go to Canada. I'm actually not sure whether it's legal there or not, it's a MYSTERY OF LIFE that I MUST SOLVE and AHHHHH NO MORE SPACE!_

He suddenly became aware of the sound of clinking plates. Ludwig sat up and saw Ivan at the sink, humming to himself as he washed the dishes. That was oddly kind of him. He moved onto the next.

_This is that museum we went to! It's supposed to look like a sinking ship, which I don't really understand why they want kids to play on sinking ships but it's a pretty awesome idea. I like it when buildings LOOK like stuff, it's not as boring!_

_It was really awesome because it's a SCIENCE museum, so everything's interactive and stuff. And they have stuff you'd NEVER see in the States, hahahaha. Like they had a maze thingie with LIQUID MERCURY as the ball that you have to tilt to win! And a game to pop zits on a computer person which was gross and funny at the same time. Then there was a FRENCH KISSING simulator that was obviously Francis's favourite…IN A KIDS' MUSEUM? Anyway, IT WAS SO AWESOME!_

_Ok there is a lot more but now there's no room AGAIN and I don't want to buy another postcard so I'm ending now. BYE!  
>Gillian.<em>

Here, a neater, finer line of handwriting was squeezed in beneath Gillian's bubbly words.

_Hi Ludwig! This is Francis. I think Gilly should just write smaller, non?_

Ivan's humming didn't end as he finished putting all the silverware away. He began to wander around the kitchen itself, examining the furniture, appliances, and even wallpaper designs with a deep fascination. Ludwig reached for the final postcard, which seemed to have been sent a day or so later.

_YAYYY! FRANCIS BOUGHT ME ANOTHER ONE! Fran-Fran, you're awesome!_

_Thanks~ I know ;)_

_Just wanted to tell you that we're going to go to Prague next. It's in the Czech Republic. We'll go after we see Rotterdam because we hear they have really awesome raves and stuff. Everyone says Prague's really awesome too, like with tons of old castles and stuff. Can't wait! _

_Halloween's soon! We might actually stop by Frankfurt for a day or so and see Tante Amalia. I guess no trick or treating for us…but we'll just eat her cake! You better get a good share of candy! Go with Feli or something. Oh yeah, tell her we saw a Van Gogh museum! She'd like that right?_

_BYEBYE FO SHO  
>Gill<em>

The mention of Feliciana made his stomach twist around in agitation.

"They sound like they're having fun! I wish I could go visiting other places. It's very nice of Gillian to remember Feliciana. But doesn't she know you're not her friend anymore?"

Ludwig almost crushed the card in his hands. "I don't see the point in mentioning it."

Ivan settled back into the chair across from him. "Oh, I was just surprised. You two were very nice friends before. I thought you were dating too."

"We…were, kind of."

"And now you haven't talked to her for almost a month. Must feel sad, da?"

It was a little sad. But he still felt angry. Even though feeling angry was getting very tiring.

But…as Ludwig thought about everything he'd done for Feliciana, then everything he'd done to differentiate himself from Gillian, and how all his hard work nearly came crashing down in one moment of weakness…

"No. I'm fine."

* * *

><p>The steady dripping of rain drummed loudly on Kiku's umbrella, but it was light as a feather compared to how wildly her heart was beating against her ribcage. She made sure to tread carefully upon the wet pavement as she hurried across the bridge. Beneath her, the small stream in the ravine had swelled up in the weather, charging down with an anxious, barely controlled rush.<p>

She could just make out the bus stop on the other side. At the moment, it was empty. Kiku clutched at the handle of her umbrella even more.

Of course, she was early. They'd agreed on meeting at 2:30, wasn't that right? And it was only 2:25 at the moment. Kiku was so flustered that she nearly splashed into a very large and muddy puddle lying in her way.

The moment she stepped into the tiny space beneath the roof of the bus stop, her nerves calmed down the slightest smidgen. It was now 2:28, and she was sure that nothing would be more agonizing than the next two minutes.

With a sigh, Kiku sat down on the single, flimsy bench. The only option was to wait. She gazed blankly into the bushes beyond the street.

And blinked with astonishment. Someone, with a jacket pulled over his head, was hunched over in front of a bush and seemed to be gesturing towards it. Was it...? Kiku nearly went sprawling as she dashed out of the bus stop, fumbling with her umbrella.

Up close, Heracles was blinking the rain away from his eyes. Kiku was amazed that even in the chilly weather, he'd only bothered to wear a t-shirt beneath a jacket. He looked up as she approached hastily.

"I just wanted to say hello," he said.

A grey striped cat was squatting beneath the low branches of the bush. Its ears were flattened back, and it hissed when Heracles reached out an arm again.

"Hera-san...I think that's a _feral_ cat."

He stared at it sadly. "Oh...that explains a lot."

He straightened up, and pulled his jacket down too. His hair hadn't escaped the rain entirely, and the dampness seemed to enunciate every brown curl. Kiku quickly realized that being a head shorter than the person you were sharing an umbrella with led to very close proximity. Heracles peered down his nose to watch her squirm and blush.

"I like the flowers on your dress," he told her.

"Thanks," she squeaked.

He proceeded to glance at the plastic brushing his head. The rain created an extra design of tiny dots on top of the original one, which was clear – save for the bright orange goldfish printed on.

"Nice umbrella."

"Thanks." She shivered. He noticed right away and offered her his jacket. Blushing furiously, Kiku didn't know what to do other than to accept. They were still too terrifyingly close.

To her relief, he gently pulled the handle out of her grip and managed to bring the umbrella to a more manageable height for the both of them. Beneath the steady downpour, the two of them began their short trek towards Kiku's house.

How long had they been...ahhh..._hanging out_ together...exclusively. She quickly counted off the days. A month, perhaps? A bit more than that? For some reason, putting it into such a compact measurement caused the time to sound so long and so short at the same time. All of her recent memories seemed to be simultaneously blurry and crystal clear. Kiku could not explain what she meant by this, but it didn't matter, since she would _never_ voice these thoughts aloud.

It had been so terribly difficult to focus on anything for those last weeks. From assignments to class to simple tasks such as feeding her own pets, Kiku had to draw upon every ounce of concentration just to do something. If not, her mind would be floating out the window, bobbing along the clouds as they grew into wild and fantastical daydreams of all sorts.

He was growing on her, which was an idea so frightening and attractive all at the same time. She'd always admired his laid-back lifestyle – mostly because she knew that behind it all was a brilliant mind. Heracles liked to talk about deep, philosophical ideas that she would never have thought of on her own. And he could spout all sorts of random, but fascinating bits of trivia. Perhaps his mother being a classic professor had something to do with it.

That's what drew her towards him in the first place. Each session of time spent with Heracles was like a lesson on, on...living in the moment. Looking at the world instead of shutting it out. Before, Kiku lived a tightly formatted life on very precise schedule. Now, it was as if a constant ticking mechanism had disappeared from inside of her, and it felt wonderful. It was so funny – she no longer felt anything hurried her, unless it was the drive to see him again. That's when she felt more like her old self.

Her parents were a little alarmed; after all, she was supposed to get university applications done. Yet Kiku failed to worry. Along with this newfound sense of relaxation was the imperturbable sense of everything having its own time and place.

And now the time was mid-afternoon, and the place was her own home. Kiku was so caught up in her thoughts that she almost missed it. Busy with letting them both in – and making sure Pochi didn't leap into the muddy lawn – it was only after she'd placed the umbrella in its holder when she looked up and saw that her friend's shirt was thoroughly soaked to the skin.

"A-aren't you cold?"

He stepped to the side, examining the wet puddle left in the previous space. "Mmm. A little bit. Will your family be upset about this?"

"Oh, that's okay..." Kiku realized in horror that he'd held the umbrella away from himself to make sure that she wouldn't get wet. "I'm so sor..."

Heracles had wordlessly pulled the dripping shirt over his head and was gingerly rolling it up into a ball over the doormat. Kiku quickly averted her eyes from the...ah...result.

"Le..let me take that! I'll get you a towel."

He nodded without a trace of embarrassment and kicked off his shoes before wandering into the living room. Kiku practically flew to the laundry room to dispose of the shirt in the drying machine. She snatched up a fluffy green towel on the way out – but not before burying her face into it to squeal quietly first.

Returning to the living room, she found Heracles sitting on the floor, peering into the box where she kept her video games. To her surprise, he pulled one out and looked at it with interest.

"What's this?"

"Dobutsu no Mori. Animal Crossing. It's an easy game," she explained, putting the towel around his shoulders. "I haven't played it in a long time."

"Could you show me?"

Kiku looked at him in amazement. Then she noticed the cover of the game – two cats peeked out of a window of the cartoon house. Shrugging, she slipped the disc into the player.

A cheery yellow tiger greeted her.

_Tybalt:  
>Hey! What took you so long, grrrRAH?<br>Are you ready to go have some fun, or what!  
>Hey. Uhhh, who are you?<em>

They settled themselves onto the couch. Heracles leaned back into the cushions.

_Tybalt:  
>I'm just joshing you, Kiku! Seriously! I know who you are!<br>I'm getting Tea Town ready for you. _

"I'm not good with names," she said sheepishly as Tybalt bobbed his head to the music, loading up her game. Heracles blinked at her contentedly.

"No, it's a cute town name," he said.

Kiku quickly looked back at the screen, where her little avatar was stepping out of the house. Clearing out the mailbox first, she decided to show Heracles around the town – especially to meet the cat characters. After running around a few acres, she found herself back in the area with her own houses.

The house across the street from her had a bright blue roof and the picture of a daisy as the door picture. Avatar Kiku ran up to the gyroid at the front door.

_Gyroid:  
>Retrieving a message from Feli...<br>~*Welcome to my home!*~_

Kiku stared at the name in surprise. Of course. Her friend had, similarly, found the game in the box and had been automatically attracted to its infinite cuteness. Kiku helped her begin a game, go through the tutorial and pay off her house. Manoeuvring the buttons on her controller, Kiku opened up some of the letters she'd received earlier.

_Dear Kiku,  
>I love this painting! It's one of my favourites in real life! The gold is so warm and they just look so happy. Donate it to the museum =D<br>Sincerely, Feli_

Kiku detached the present, a "rare painting," and put it in her inventory. She felt a little guilty; Feliciana hadn't come to her attention in the past few weeks. A few times in class...in the hallways? Kiku usually made it a point to not chat during lessons and Feliciana usually respected this. But now Kiku might have intruded on this request a bit too far.

She looked over at Heracles. His head was tilted to one side, eyes closed and lost in sleep.

Kiku sighed and flicked her thumb. Avatar Kiku trotted off towards the museum, with the rare painting in her pocket for Blathers.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This was long, wow.**

**Hehe, Ivan. And Gillian. I almost got carried away with her postcards. It was great to use these guys, especially since they're so untouched by the drama. I've never been to Amsterdam, by the way. It was all internet and Andrew Keenan-Bolger's blog.**

**Giripan...I honestly gave them very little thought until I began to write this. Now I can't help but think how cute they are. So calm and comfortable with one another.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Oh man. It's been over a month. I apologize. I refuse to go to bed before this gets posted up though, so here we are! At 2am. Morning class tomorrow (oh yeah, school started!). Whooo.  
><strong>

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.**

* * *

><p>Antonio hummed happily to himself as he turned off the main road into the quieter, residential street of Fellini Drive. The wind blew a bright orange leaf smack into the middle of his windshield, causing him to grin.<p>

Autumn was kind of a huge deal at the farm. It was during that strange turnover period – the last, hottest days of summer and the beginnings of chilly fall – where it got the busiest. Suddenly, everything had to be harvested (driving the big vehicles was the best part, though) and packed and sent away to the village markets, city restaurants, or even just down to the storage room. Then there were all those people who'd traipse in wanting to go camping in the woods. Sure, they did offer the space as a camping ground all through summer, but for some reason it was always during the warm weekends of September and early October when people suddenly felt like becoming one with nature. Not that the family minded all too much, but it made autumn such a busy time.

So it was almost November before things wound down and Antonio was able to go visit Lovina again. For the past month she had been calling him every other day to chat and complain about how much school sucked, and he'd laughed through it and told her everything would be okay. But there was something strange about their conversations. Every time he tried to ask her about the rest of her family, she'd snap at him and change the subject.

Another weird thing was that he'd also stopped hearing Feliciana's voice rambling away in the background. Before, she'd cut into their conversation at least once per call. Now it was total silence. This wasn't a big problem for Antonio, because he loved just listening to Lovina's voice (though, to her chagrin, he wasn't always listening to _what_ she was talking about half the time), but sometimes he found himself wondering what was going on.

He tried asking her once, but she'd screamed at him and hung up. And he never wanted that to happen again, so now he just avoided the subject.

The little red car swung left up the driveway in front of the tall, narrow house. As Antonio got out, he could make out a figure nestled in the little wicker chair, high up on the third storey balcony where the twins' bedrooms were.

"Hey, Feli!"

The girl threw him a silent, half-hearted wave from behind her textbook.

"What are you studying? How's AP Art going? Is Lovi ready to go?"

Before Feliciana could reply, the front door burst open and right on cue, Lovina appeared, dragging her duffel behind her.

"Mamma, I'm leaving! Oi, bastard, help me carry this already!"

"Okay!" He hurried over and picked it up. Lovina automatically dropped the strap and marched away before he could hug her hello. Antonio saw Ms. Roma through the open doorway, and waved at her before closing it.

"Hey, stupid! Let's go, I'd rather get there in less than a million years."

"Right, Lovi!" He deposited her bag into the trunk. Slamming down the lid, he glanced up at the balcony again. Feliciana's head drooped over the pages.

"Hurry up!"

"Sorry!" Antonio slid into the front seat. Lovina had already put on her seat belt, slouched down and fingers now drumming impatiently against her elbow. They were soon discharged from their task and given a new one – pushing Antonio away when he tried to give her a kiss.

"Just go, damn it."

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to your sister?"

She scowled at him. "She knows where I'm going and when I'll be back. Feli's fine."

Antonio peered up through the window to the balcony again. Lovina bolted upright.

"Geez, if you're so obsessed with my damn house we might as well stay, idiot!"

"Oh! I'm sorry," he said hastily, starting the ignition. Lovina flopped back against the seat once more as they pulled away.

"So what's up?"

"Nothing. I talked to you last night. What could have possibly happened since then?"

"I don't know. Anything! I mean, last night Sofia and Javier were trying on their costumes, and we discovered that Javier's pants were a bit too big, so Tia Lucia had to fix it, then Sofia thought she lost her sword, so we had to go find it…"

"'Tonio, you can shut up now."

"Just saying, a _lot_ of things could have happened!" But he stopped.

They were making extremely good time for a Saturday morning. It had taken Antonio almost another hour more to go fetch her, having been caught in the commuting rush, but now the highway was practically devoid of other vehicles. Lovina didn't comment when he turned on the radio.

That was puzzling. She never liked the first station he picked, even if she later went back to it. But as the music played over the speakers, Lovina just continued staring out the window.

In exactly two hours and thirty-seven minutes, they were rolling into the sandy parking area in front of the house. Before either of them could unbuckle themselves, the door slammed open and two small and very energetic figures scurried towards them, shouting excitedly.

"'Tonio! 'Tonio! Look at me-"

Lovina yelped when the first thing she saw upon opening the door was the bright orange barrel of a toy gun shoved into her face.

"Bang! Lovi, you're dead!"

"Javier!" Antonio came around to the other side of the car, a little girl hanging off his elbow. "Stop that."

"Lovi, you're coming with us to go trick or treating, right?"

She shrugged noncommittally and picked up her duffel. Both Sofia and Javier hopped around them as they made their way back to the house.

"Lovi gets to stay with me in _my_ room!"

Antonio turned to grin at Lovina, who was trying and failing (oh so _cutely_!) to mask how flustered she was at being the centre of attention. Even so, there was something…off about her quietness.

* * *

><p>The meal was nothing short of chaos. When Tia Lucia peeled Sofia's fingers off Lovina's elbow for the umpteenth time and suggested taking advantage of the lovely weather, Antonio actually got the hint and the two took off towards the woods.<p>

He was hoping that she'd at least say something when they got out of the house. Then he waited until they'd crossed the field. And past the first few trees. By the time they'd reached the steep descent downwards, he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Lovi, you're going to fall if you don't let me go first."

"Go away. I can do it by myself." The pout and stubborn shove reminded him strongly of two children who were probably squabbling just up the hill.

Still, Antonio decided to follow her closely, just in case. It was positively nerve-wracking to watch her teeter on the narrow trail, and all hazardous slippery spots seemed to scream out to him.

"Lovi…is something bothering you?"

She looked over her shoulder and glared at him. "No! Why are you being so annoying?"

He winced when she jumped off the last boulder and landed with a slight stumble. But now they were on even ground. And a good distance away from prying eyes and ears. Antonio could finally interrogate her without having to deal with extraneous distractions.

"Hey, what's going on at home? You can tell me. I'll understand."

Lovina sniffed and walked away from him, tapping the trees with a stick she'd found. "No, you won't."

"Aww, come on. Try me." He sidled up behind her. "Please? I'll do anything to make you feel better…"

She sidestepped his sneak hug and frowned, hands on hips. "Stop trying to act cute! It's not funny, damnit!"

"Okay, fine." He dropped his arms and looked her directly in the eye. "I'm serious now. What is it?"

Wishing for this interrogation to be over, Lovina plopped down onto a rock and scowled at an unfortunate Sycamore.

"Long story short, Feli copied Potato Bastard's homework, they got in trouble, so she has no more friends, which made her all mopey and things are just stupidly dumb and awkward now. Are we finished?"

Antonio was shocked. "What?"

"I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"But, but…" Antonio struggled to find words to describe his thoughts. "…That's so horrible! Is she alright? Have you helped her?"

Lovina stared at him incredulously. "Helped her with what?"

"Well, I can't imagine having no more friends." He sat down next to her. "So now it's your job to make sure she can still be with someone. Can you imagine how lonely that is?"

Lovina snorted. "Oh, can I. Whatever. She deserves it."

Forget shocked, Antonio was downright appalled at this. "…_What?_"

She kicked out her legs in front of her moodily. "I told you, you won't understand! You can't. You don't even have any siblings, much less one who, who was always the pretty and cute one, the one everyone likes and talks to, and always talk about how _wonderfully_ talented and creative they are, and saying that _you_ should be more like them…"

The gears in Antonio's brain were still churning. "Wait, who says all this?"

"The hell I know. Anyone. Everyone!" Lovina suddenly curled back up into a ball, ducking her chin behind her knees, eyes still narrowed and burning a hole into the tree trunk across from her. "Even my own mother practically said that Feli is the perfect one and I'm the fuckin' problem child or whatever."

He frowned at her, feeling very uneasy at her outburst. "But that's really not Feli's fault. You should talk to your mom about that. Feli had nothing to do with it…she can't really do anything about other people saying what they want to say."

Lovina's body uncurled itself once again, and she stood up stiffly, seething. "Stop trying to lecture me on what I should do. As I said, you have no, no fucking idea what it's like. Leave me alone!"

She turned to keep on walking, but quickly realized that she was alone. Turning around, Lovina saw that Antonio had not moved from the rock.

"Hey, you know what?" His voice seemed distant, almost detached. "You're right on some points."

"Okay, so maybe I don't know what it's like to have a sister, or a brother…" It was clear that he was feigning nonchalance, scratching his elbow and not looking at her.

"But you know what's so funny? Because of exactly that, I do know how important having one is." Antonio rested his elbows on his knees.

"When my parents got married, my mother got pregnant really quickly afterwards. They were really happy, obviously. She had a baby boy."

Lovina didn't understand how the story of Antonio's birth had anything to do with this, and was going to say so when he continued.

"Of course, they loved him and were excited to watch him grow up, but in the end, they never would." He sighed and flicked at a fallen leaf. "Because that was my brother Luis, and he died after a month."

Lovina's jaw dropped. Antonio kept on talking in that calm, distant tone.

"About two years later they finally had me, and had learned to deal with it and all that. I didn't even know until I was about, oh, ten? I'm not scarred by it or anything. I try to be optimistic. I mean, I never even knew him…so I can't miss him, exactly, but sometimes when I see others like you and Feli it makes me kind of hurt inside. And I _wish_ I could miss him."

Seeing him like this was so strange, so jarring. Not even sad Antonio was like this. Lovina felt her heart flopping around in her ribcage.

She had no clue as to what to say.

At all.

"Well, uh…" Her mind raced. "Okay, I'm sorry…but I don't see how this stops Feli from being an insufferable twit who got everything handed to her on a silver platter."

Antonio slowly looked up and gave her the most gut-wrenching stare. She tried again.

"B-because the point is! I just can't help it that she's finally being treated like a normal human being instead of some stupid angel of cutesy cute and sweetness…"

Now he was the one refusing to look at her. "Whatever, I'm going back."

"Y-you're…what?" The slope suddenly loomed at her, silently taunting her sub-par hiking skills. Maybe she'd been able to make it down without Antonio's help, but going the other way was a completely different story. "You can't do that, idiot!"

"I can, and I'm not an idiot."

She was flabbergasted. Antonio always took whatever she called him in stride. To the point that Lovina thought he didn't even notice. In fact, _she_ hardly noticed. It was just…automatic. You know. Buffer words.

"Y-You BASTARD! I hope you fall and get stuck and have to beg me to help you get back, dumbass. I...I…HEY! Don't ignore me, jerkass STUPID-HEAD!"

Lovina glared at his retreating back. It was definitely not going to happen, since he'd been living here for months now, and before had stayed plenty of times during the holidays. Antonio disappeared behind a turn.

Now she was stuck at the bottom of the hill with nothing but dead leaves, mud, and a sinking feeling of guilt pooling in her stomach. Fan-fucking-tastic.

* * *

><p>Still grumbling to herself, Lovina trudged up the path, cursing every time her feet slipped upon the slimy leaves littering her way. Mind still reeling from the information it had received twenty minutes ago.<p>

_I never even knew him…so I can't miss him, exactly, but sometimes when I see people like you and Feli it makes me kind of hurt inside. And I _wish_ I could miss him._

W-well…how was she supposed to know? It's not as if she wanted Feliciana gone forever, it was just that it was finally nice to know she wasn't, well, obnoxiously perfect.

She finally dragged her exhausted body over the last ledge and popped out of the trees. Ugh, now there was that stupid field to cross…

Except something made her stop dead in her tracks. Antonio was hurrying back, an expression of complete guilt on his face. He stopped a few feet in front of her. They stared at each other.

"YOU ASSHOLE!" Lovina screeched, charging forward to punch him angrily in the shoulder.

"I'm sorry!"

"YOU! YOU LEFT ME ALONE, YOU STUPID, IDIOTIC, COMPLETE _ASS_ -"

Antonio winced at the barrage of fresh curses and screams hurled at him, and made no move to protect himself. Lovina paused, gasping, searching for some coherency to better express her frustration.

"I…it's not my fault, damnit, I – it's not like, I….argh! I complain about everything, stupid, you didn't have to guilt trip me! Fuck you! Seriously!"

She tried to march past him, but Antonio tried to grab her back. "Lovi-"

Unfortunately for her, Antonio was still stronger than she was, so there was no getting out of the tight hug he bestowed upon her.

Which is why she decided to give up and hug back. Not because she was actually feeling guilty for what she said. Not because she knew that he needed one. And definitely _not_ just because she liked being in his arms.

"Lovi, really, I'm sorry…I won't do it again…"

She groaned inwardly, hating the way he only sounded sad, not angry. Hell, if this happened the other way around, Lovina knew that she wouldn't have forgiven so easily, not by a long shot. Then again, that was why Antonio was Antonio, and why he was such a good person…

"Um. It's…it's okay," she mumbled into his shoulder. Grimacing and squeezing her eyes shut, Lovina sighed. "I…I'm sorry, too…"

Automatically, she yanked away before he could start crushing the life out of her, gushing about how cute she was when she was being honest and all that crap. But he merely patted her on the back and stepped away.

"Hey, if you don't mind me putting it out there…" He averted his eyes, clearly fearing another verbal assault. "I'm just going to put it out there and say that you're only pretending to be mad at your sister since seeing her unhappy makes you uncomfortable, and you want something to blame it on."

He predicted correctly, and Lovina furiously began to defend herself at once.

"…The hell do you mean by that! Like I'm some insecure wimp who's in denial about her-" She lifted her fingers and made air quotations with her fingers, scoffing all the while. "-her _true feelings_ or whatever?"

Antonio had to grin. "Something like that, yeah!"

Lovina snorted. "Not a chance, you dirty bastard."

He laughed, and reached for her hand. The sun, sitting lower in the sky, blinked at them between shadowy clouds.

"Ugh, I'm going to shower and then I'm going to nap."

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"Early dinner. Then bringing Javier and Sofia trick-or-treating! Out here, it's better to get going before it's completely dark."

Lovina groaned. "Do I really have to go?"

"Of course! They won't leave unless you're there too." He smirked and swung their hands back and forth as they ascended the porch steps. "Wait until you see the costume they picked for you."

"WHAT?"

"You'll look so cute, I promise!"

She pulled her hand away and frowned suspiciously. "You're so lucky that I actually like you."

Antonio merely smiled and held the door open as she stomped past him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Not exactly the easiest/most pleasant thing to write...but on a happier note, EVERYBODY in his family also adores Lovina. Especially the kids. =D**

**Note to self: establish regular posting schedule ASAP!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.  
>More disclaimers at the end, as not to hamper your reading experience!<strong>

* * *

><p>This isn't so bad, Feliciana thought to herself. It was a bit of a windy night, so staying indoors kept her warm and cozy. There was a big bowl of candy right in front of her, and Grandpa Roma had assured her that there would still be enough for all the adorable children that rang the doorbell. There were long enough intervals in between so that Feliciana could snuggle up on the couch and enjoy the <em>Are You Afraid of the Dark?<em> marathon that Nickelodeon was hosting in honour of the festivities.

Even so, the idea of a bottomless bowl of candy was not enough to stop her from feeling just a little bit lonely. Sure, Grandpa Roma was reading a book next to her, and her mother was working upstairs, but there really was nobody to talk to.

Just as Gary was quenching the fire and declaring the close of the Midnight Society meeting yet again, the doorbell rang. Grandpa Roma, who had dozed off, began to stir. Feliciana stopped him.

"I'll get it," she said. Picking up the bowl, Feliciana fished around for a good treat.

"Happy Hallowee…vee?"

There were two people standing in front of her. One had absolutely nothing on aside from a simple beige tunic, with a bedsheet carelessly tossed over his shoulder. Next to him was a short Asian girl in a grey dress and green tie. Just beneath her wig's green bangs, Kiku's eyes were wide and round, looking every bit shocked and embarrassed as Feliciana was.

"Ahh…Happy Halloween, Feli-chan."

"Vee...Kiku!" She almost dropped the bowl of candy. "Are you trick or treating?"

"N-no."

"Oh…" If that was the case, Feliciana wasn't sure why these two had rung her doorbell. In costume, no less. "Do you still want some candy, vee?"

"N-no, that's okay." Kiku fidgeted for a moment, then looked at Heracles for support. He cleared his throat.

"Oh. Hello, Feliciana. Do you want to come to Alfred's party with us?"

Kiku looked back at her, face relaxing slightly, though the blush remained. Feliciana's heart had skipped a beat. Really? Did they _want_ her to go with them?

Alfred had actually encouraged her to come. After all, it was pretty much an open invitation. It was just that Feliciana didn't want to go by herself. And after Lovina decided to visit Antonio, she had assumed all options left pointed to staying at home.

Kiku's face was still red, but there was an expression akin to hope written all over it. Feliciana couldn't help but feel glad. Then she remembered that Heracles was there too, and her heart plummeted.

"Vee…but I have no costume…I'm sorry."

She really wanted to say yes, but she hardly knew Heracles and didn't want to be the third wheel. They were probably only asking her to be polite.

But Kiku was fishing around in the bag slung around her shoulder, eventually pulling out a pair of cat ears.

"I thought you might be needing one, so…"

She trailed off and the girls stared at each other. The silence lasted long enough that Heracles was about to suggest something else, were it not for the sudden, high pitched squeal that burst into the air.

"That's so cute, vee! Come and help me pick what to wear with it! Then we can go right after! Vee, can you wait, Heracles?"

Feliciana was hugging the life out of his girlfriend, but Heracles took it in stride when the girls dashed up the stairs, leaving him to step inside and close the door from the wind.

Picking up the bowl of candy, he walked into the living room and settled next to Grandpa Roma, who awoke again with a guilty start.

"...Oh!"

Heracles offered him the bowl. "Hello. Chocolate?"

Grandpa Roma blinked, but Heracles merely selected a caramel for himself and sat back just as Betty Ann threw a handful of dust onto the fire.

"Submitted for the approval for the Midnight Society, I call this story _The Tale of the Bookish Babysitter_."

* * *

><p>It had only taken all of twenty minutes for them to pick out a cute dress to go along with the cat ears, as well as fuzzy mittens for paws and drawing whiskers on Feliciana's face. The wind caused the tree branches to rustle and made them shiver, but Feliciana was happier than she'd been in weeks.<p>

"Vee, don't you think that the opening to that TV show is so scary, Heracles?"

The chilly air seemed to have little to no effect on Heracles, who was ambling along in his sandals as if it were a warm summer evening. "Yeah…pretty scary."

So far, Feliciana really liked Heracles. He was very, very nice and didn't seem like he got angry easily. Kiku smiled, relieved at seeing them getting along so well.

As they made their way up Alfred's driveway, a heavy bass beat was emanating steadily from the house. The jack-o-lanterns decorating the path had been wisely situated a distance away from the actual footpath, but the poor bats hanging from the porch roof did not fare so well. Crumpled up and tangled together, traces of tampering could be seen. There were even a few trails of toilet paper hanging off the tree on the front lawn.

"This is very different from his pool party in the summer," Heracles remarked mildly, watching two boys stumbled from the doorway.

"The other costumes aren't very good," Kiku observed as a girl wandered past, looking every bit normal aside from some tacky fairy wings held together by elastic and a tinsel halo.

Feliciana pushed past them. "Do you think Ludwig is here?"

It was hard to tell. The house was filled to the brim with partygoers. Michael Jackson was blaring through the stereo, with teenagers milling in and out of the kitchen, bearing various drinks of suspicious content.

"Greetings!"

Out of the throng, Alfred appeared before them, grinning widely. One would think that comic book superhero costumes were purely for those under the age of 12, but Alfred refused to stick to any age limit. There was no way one could not find him easily within the crowd, due to the bold blue suit and red cape with the iconic "S" emblazoned on his chest. Perhaps some even felt more reassured to know that they were the guests of Superman himself.

A shout cut through the noise. "Hey, Jones! Underwear goes under the pants, not over!"

Their host brushed off the comment away good-naturedly. "Well, great to see ya, dudes! Rules are simple. Dancing over here, drinking over there, peeing in there, and puking far, far away from here!"

They nodded and he seemed satisfied. "Good. Thanks. Okay, have fun!"

He left the friends in the corner. The music was very loud, with the lights dimmed down. Heracles nodded towards the open area of dancers and mouthed something to Kiku that made her blush. To Feliciana's surprise, her friend allowed herself to be dragged over to join the crowd.

It was amusing. Feliciana felt herself feeling delighted at watching Kiku actually dance with a guy. But she couldn't watch for long before another voice drew her attention away.

"Shut the front door! Feliciana!"

The dramatic cry was from across the room. She turned and saw Feliks waving ecstatically from the other side.

"Girl! I thought you were like, becoming a hermit or whatevs." He sauntered over, miraculously not tripping in his bright red, high heeled pumps. Other partygoers dodged the fluffy handbag swinging from one hand, and the skinny cigarette holder in the other.

"Kay-oot kitty cat ears! But really, hon, this is like, way too tame." Turquoise eye shadow glittered as he tilted his head to one side, examining her critically. "I suppose that's what you get when like, the only other fashion-minded person disappears from public!"

Feliciana had to giggle. "Vee…thanks! Sorry, I'll be better about saying hi again!"

Feliks tossed his two-toned hair nonchalantly. "You better, betch." He spun around, narrowly missing somebody's eye with the cigarette holder as he scrutinised the room. "Speaking of which, where did Toris go?"

Like a command, another friendly face appeared just as the words were uttered. Munching on potato chips, Toris waved. "I'm here. Hey, Feliciana! Feels like I haven't seen you in a long time."

His costume was simple: a white t-shirt and white pants. The tail and floppy ears attached to his beanie is what made it clear, though. And, of course, the black dots over everything. Feliciana looked back and forth from Feliks and Toris.

"…Vee? Are you a…Dalmatian? And you're _Cruella de Vil_?"

"Damn right!" Feliks twirled around, which was an incredible feat in the skin-tight black dress. "Say what you will, but Cru-Cru was totes the most fabulous Disney villain."

Feliciana looked over at Toris, who shrugged. "I was already going to be a dog, and this seemed like a funny idea."

"But…doesn't Cruella wear fur?" It was her turn to tilt her head and frown. "Why aren't you wearing any of that, vee?"

Feliks sighed dramatically. "Well, _duh_ I had one! But can you imagine wearing it in this crowd? Ugh! Some moron would spill his punch on it and everything would be ruined forever. FOREVER!"

"Yes," Toris intoned gravely. "The fate of the world definitely hangs upon a faux fur coat."

He grinned and jumped away as Feliks swatted him with the furry handbag. Feliciana laughed, revelling in feeling so relaxed and happy. Hanging out with these two was always fun, admiring their easygoing, light-hearted banter. Toris and Feliks had one of the most secure friendships she had ever seen. It would take a lot before they got into a fight – Toris was patient and understanding, and Feliks always opted to forgive and forget.

Their Disney diva was getting impatient. A Katy Perry song had just come onto the stereo.

"Blah blah blah, blah blah," he huffed. He grabbed both of them by the elbow and dragged them towards the centre of the room. "Like, seriously guys. Cut the gabby-gab and let's effin' dance!"

She couldn't have said it any better. Halfway through the first song, Feliciana's sides were aching from laughing so hard at Feliks's antics and Toris's bad dancing. About three songs through, her feet were aching.

"Hey!" She had to shout to be heard over the music. "I'm going to go talk to other people!"

Feliks pouted, but Toris nodded and waved her away. Feliciana scurried from the hot, ridiculously crowded room and out into the crisp autumn air.

It was a relief, but not having a coat would probably limit her time outside. There were a few people on the back porch, but most of them were busy watching Alfred chase a few boys away from the now-empty swimming pool.

"Oh, hi Feliciana!"

Tina, a cheerful, round-faced Finnish girl with long blonde plaits, waved at her from the porch swing. She was sitting next to that Norwegian girl who Feliciana often saw around campus.

"I like your costume! It's so very cute." Tina scooted over to allow Feliciana space on the swing. The other girl nodded in greeting. "This is Ingrid. Remember Mathias from last year? They're friends."

Ingrid snorted. "Knowing someone for twelve years doesn't automatically make you friends."

Tina grinned. "Well, I would assume that going on at least one date means you're on friendly terms, isn't that right?"

Ingrid looked irritated, but Feliciana felt it was safe enough to laugh. "Vee…I like your costumes, guys!"

"Thank you!" Tina nudged the ground with her shoe and set the swing rocking lightly. "I know witches are kind of boring and unoriginal, but I didn't have a lot of time to prepare. I didn't even remember to dress up until Berwald reminded me on Skype. So I just called Ingrid and we got matching outfits. I think it's cute!"

Ingrid glanced down at her outfit, as if she was finally paying attention to it for the first time. But all she said was, "Thanks."

Feliciana latched onto the small piece of information she'd just received. "So, you and Berwald are still together?"

This time, Ingrid smirked and Tina flushed pink. "Y-yeah, I still talk to him! Of course, we're friends!"

"Going on steady dates implies you're not just friends, but perhaps_ best_ friends," Ingrid snarked.

"W-well…yes. I suppose he is." Tina's pink deepened into a rosier shade. "Speaking of which - how's Ludwig? You guys hang out a lot, right?"

"Um." Feliciana thought she felt Ingrid's eyes burning into the back of her neck as she looked into Tina's warm, innocent ones. "I…ah…actually don't know, vee…"

"But I thought-" Tina abruptly stopped mid-speech, her gaze having shifted over Feliciana's shoulder to Ingrid's frowning face. "Oh, whoops. Sorry, this happens all the time. Berwald scolds me for talking to too many people and forgetting who is who all the time. But I just like other people, you know?"

"Y-yeah!" Feliciana stood up, just a bit shakily. "Vee…I'm kind of cold."

"Oh!" Tina jumped up, now nervous from her social flub. "We can go inside. Hey, want to hear this joke I heard the other da-"

"N-no! That's okay, vee!" Feliciana quickly walked to the door. "I don't want you to move because of me! I'll see you later, vee…"

Tina still looked embarrassed. "Um, okay. Bye!"

Feliciana left the girls where they were and went inside. Once there, she then went downstairs into the den. To her surprise, a totally different world was thriving down there, of boys and girls fighting epic battles against each other in a grand free-for-all. After watching five minutes of HK's Kirby pummelling Yong Soo's Link to a pathetic pulp, Feliciana became bored with the sheer nerdiness of it all and returned to the real world.

She was left standing in the hallway again, not feeling particularly attracted to any of the events going on around her.

It was no use. While Feliciana usually loved parties, with the dancing and the socializing, for some reason this one didn't feel fun at all. Mustering up all her courage, she squeezed past the crowd to the kitchen, where Alfred was tidying up.

"Vee, Alfred? Is Ludwig here?"

"WHAT?" He had to shout over the music. "I can't hear you!"

Wincing, she tried again. "I ASKED IF LUDWIG IS HERE!"

"Oh!" They were momentarily distracted by a cheer – people had formed a small circle, with two figures dancing up a storm in the middle. Smaller flashes of light signalled the entrance of cell phones to document this impromptu competition.

Alfred turned away from the commotion and continued to shove used cups into a plastic bag. "Nope, but I still invited him. Don't think he'll come. Sorry."

Feliciana sighed. Of course. The noise would have bothered him too much, and the sheer messiness of parties would be absolutely insufferable.

Kiku and Heracles were perched on the Jones' porch railing, talking in quiet tones when Feliciana walked outside. The Italian girl was pulling on her coat.

"Vee…Is it okay if I just go home?"

Heracles stood up. "Sure. We can go with you."

"No, no!" Feliciana hastily shook her head. "I'm fine, vee…have a good night!"

Kiku looked a bit worried, but Feliciana shot her a reassuring smile before dashing away. After speed-walking for about a block, she slowed her pace when she realized nobody was following her.

It was kind of weird how she wanted to be alone after so long. Feliciana appreciated Kiku's thoughtfulness, but really…there was only one other person she wanted to talk to.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I never went to any decadent high school parties myself, but I just assumed they're like university ones, just more awkward and pretentious.**

**Are You Afraid of the Dark? belongs to Nickelodeon.  
>Vocaloid belongs to Yamaha.<br>Superman belongs to DC Comics.  
>101 Dalmatians belongs to Disney.<br>Super Smash Bros belongs to Nintendo.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey! If you like Canada and America, I just began another story about them that's set in this AU, Thicker Than Water. It would be very, very kind of you to check it out. Thanks!**

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.**

* * *

><p>The morning of November 1st was drizzly and cold. Lovina gathered her sweater closer around her while Antonio spent forever tinkering with the vespa ignition.<p>

"That pathetic thing is going to collapse halfway through," she said.

"Aw, have a little faith!" He straightened. "Anyway, you love this machine!"

The door creaked open and Tia Lucia bustled out. Javier and Sofia trailed out after her, unbidden.

"Here you go!" She handed Lovina a basket. "Are you sure you want to picnic in this weather? I have the feeling that winter is well on its way."

Antonio grinned and slapped the ancient vespa's handlebars. "Then we'll race him! Old Man Winter's got a cane, he can't run. We'll just go so fast that we'll accidently ride all the way back into July."

Javier and Sofia screamed with laughter, scampering away from Old Man Antonio chasing them with a stick. Lovina pretended to be uninterested with the entire scene.

Antonio caught Javier by the back of his shirt. "Ah, you're definitely faster than Old Man Winter, no doubt about that. But me and Lovi, we have to ride the vespa because we're older and slower than you. So you can't come, okay?"

Javier giggled and squirmed, causing the cloth of his shirt to twist in Antonio's hand. "Okay!"

"You too, Sofia." Antonio nudged the children back towards the house. "See you at dinnertime!"

For once, they obeyed him on command – though Sofia stopped to grab Lovina's knee before dashing in after her brother. After giving herself a silent reprimand for blushing at some little kid's hug, Lovina marched over to the vespa.

"Alright, you lazy idiot. If we don't go now, we'll be riding into the new year, damnit."

He shrugged and smiled. "But I got rid of them, didn't I? And nobody cried." Swinging one leg over the seat, he scooted forwards to give her room behind him. "Adios, Tia Lucia!"

His aunt waved as they puttered away.

Lovina held out her hand and grumbled. "Perfect day for a picnic, my ass. I swear it's going to rain any fucking second now."

"Aw, come on. Be optimistic!" Antonio couldn't really turn around, so he raised his voice over the coughs and chokes of the motor. "I promise there's a point to this."

She opted to grumble into his back as he turned in a bend. After about twenty minutes of getting the old scooter up a hill – Lovina had been sure that she would be the first to die by being flattened when they hurtled off the edge, and Antonio had been sure that he would be the first to die by suffocation via Lovina's arms – it was a great relief to arrive at the top. It was surprisingly pleasant – covered in tufts of healthy, springy grass and a lovely view of the fields below.

"See! Not a drop." Antonio carelessly let the vespa tip over to lean against a tree and walked towards the edge. "The clouds are moving away. Look, isn't it pretty?"

They hadn't gone very far, but it was enough to make the Carriedo farm look like a doll's house a ways down the ribbon of road. Lovina had thought the metaphor only existed in made-up stories and children picture books, but the landscape actually did look like a patchwork quilt, thanks to the neat little fields that farmers had ploughed. On the other side, the forest created a bumpy, multicoloured carpet of green, red, brown and orange.

Antonio had wandered over to another area and was looking at something that was hidden to Lovina by shrubs and rocks.

"Hey Lovi, this is what I was gonna show you."

It was probably something pukingly cute. Flowers, maybe. Or a bird's nest. Maybe even a nest of effin' bunnies, or something.

"All this way for just a-"

_Luis Fernandez-Carriedo  
>July 26 ~September 30<em>

Lovina shrieked and ran backwards, nearly losing her balance. Antonio reached out to help her, but Lovina hoisted her own self up, eyes flashing.

"What the fucking HELL is this? What are you trying to do, bastard, guilt trip me even more? I thought we were DONE talking about it! Goddamnit Antonio, this is plain fucking morbid. STOP! I've had enough with this shit!"

He merely looked blank and confused. "Huh? I just wanted to show it to you, now you know. They buried him here because the view looks pretty."

She glared and turned away. "Oh, and now you're playing the dumb and innocent game. Good luck, asshole."

"What?" She was forced to look at him when he walked over to face her. "Does it make you upset?"

"Upset? Antonio, you idiot!" Lovina threw herself onto the ground, moodily tearing up a few grasses in the process. "Th-the…yesterday, when you…I…we were fighting! And talking about that! It got scary, and I don't like it!"

With that outburst, she automatically pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in her arms. Antonio sat down next to her.

"Aw, Lovi. I wasn't even thinking of that." He leaned his chin on her shoulder. "I don't like fighting with you either."

She angrily shrugged him away, or tried to as much as she could while staying rigid. "Then stop bringing it up!"

"But, but you can't just ignore things." He rubbed her back, attempting to break through her protective ball. "And you're so good at that, normally! You're always telling me exactly what's annoying you or what I'm doing wrong. And it helps, doesn't it?"

Lovina thought "helping" was a bit of a stretch, since it was rare of him to take any of her criticisms seriously. Keeping her arms tightly wrapped around her legs, she twisted her neck around to shoot him another glare.

"I haven't ignored anything. I even agreed that Feli's life probably sucks more than mine right now, didn't I? What the hell more do you want me to do?"

Antonio was getting to his feet. Strolling over to where they had abandoned their belongings, he brought the basket over.

"I can't force you to do anything, Lovi, but we haven't really talked about the first thing that got you mad…" He graciously allowed her to edge her curled-up figure a little ways off to make room for the picnic blanket. "…Are you gonna talk to your mom?"

Lovina froze. "My mom? Why?"

"Well, I think you should straighten out the whole part when you feel that she implied that Feli was favoured. Which I still think probably isn't true."

He reached into the basket, pulled out a tomato, and without warning, tossed it over to her. Lovina instantly sprang out of her ball to catch it, which resulted in her being sprawled out onto the grass.

Antonio grinned at her. "Just think about it, okay? For me!"

She simply made a face and took a big bite into the tomato.

* * *

><p>Dinner was a simple yet another loud and chaotic fare, especially since Javier and Sofia were hanging on to their last chance of seeing Lovina for probably a whole other month. Lovina was sorry to go herself, particularly because to the fact that there was school to return to the next day. As always, Antonio gallantly offered to bring her back.<p>

It was very late, almost 11:30 PM when they arrived at Fellini Drive. When Lovina and Antonio cautiously opened the door, a peek inside revealed that Rita and Grandpa Roma were still awake, watching television.

"Lovi, you're home!" Grandpa Roma, cheerful as always, bounced up the moment she'd stepped onto the carpet. "And Antonio! Are you staying here for the night?"

Antonio beamed. He loved this house. "Sure! I mean, if that's not too much."

"Of course not, you're nearly part of the family, almost like our son-in-law…" Ignoring Lovina's squawks of embarrassment, Grandpa Roma ambled away with his arm around Antonio's shoulders, chattering away about whatever he could think of. Antonio, in turn, looked positively delighted.

You couldn't find a more clueless pair anywhere, Lovina thought. She suddenly realized that the only people left in the room were herself and her mother. Rita switched off the television set and stretched her arms.

"Ooh, it's late. Lovi, if you still feel like showering, remember to be quiet…Feli went to bed early tonight. She's probably fast asleep. Did you have a good time at the farm?"

Lovina remained silent. Rita put down the remote.

"Lovina, is everything alright?"

"What did you mean when you said that Feli was always the one who you always expected to stay out of trouble?"

Rita was taken aback. "I beg your pardon?"

Lovina could feel something uneasy rise in her chest. "When Feli came back and she was in trouble, you said that! It sounded like you're saying that I'm the _bad_ one, but I…it's not my fault! Mamma, that's not fair-"

"What?" Rita's forehead wrinkled as she frowned. "I don't have any recollection of this."

Although she was a little self-conscious at how immature this was going to look, Lovina couldn't resist stamping her foot on the floor.

"I know everyone thinks I'm difficult or whatever but, but, but!" She gritted her teeth when her mother put a finger to her lips. "No! I don't care if it's almost midnight! You have to…what I want to say is…goddamnit, why is it so easy for Feli to make people like her? Everyone thinks she's the best thing since sliced pizza."

She plopped down onto the armchair and pouted. Rita came over to sit by her side.

"Just because I'm not smiling 24/7 doesn't mean I'm a bad person! I'm just as good as she is!"

Rita patted her daughter's head. "Then why don't you try to be a bit nicer to people, Lovi?"

Lovina sniffed. "Because…I don't want to be a phony…" She flared up again, determined not to let her sense of injustice pass. "Wait! But we're not talking about that!"

She edged away from Rita, folding her arms. "YOU are my mom so YOU shouldn't be saying shit like that either!"

Rita arched an eyebrow and imitated her pose. "Well, my daughter, you do have a point. However, it would be a lot simpler for me to be less _unconsciously_ prejudiced if YOU made my life a little easier, wouldn't it?"

She reached over and gave Lovina a hug. "I'm sorry if anything I said made you feel upset…both you and Feli have your strengths and weaknesses. I love you and your little acts of toughness very much, tesorina."

Lovina squirmed as her mother squeezed her tightly. When the kisses started though, she outright shoved her away.

"Okay! I get it!" Blushing, she snatched up her bag. "You're almost as bad as that tomato idiot, and that's saying a lot. It's freakin' midnight, I'm going to bed."

Rita bit her lip to stop herself from reminding her to be quiet as Lovina barged up the stairs. It didn't really matter though; Feliciana slept like a log. What an interesting night this had turned out to be…maybe the house would actually stop being so quiet now.

* * *

><p>Feliciana rolled over groggily. How she wished that her internal clock would magically right itself again. But no, it was still on the fritz. She imagined it was like a little brain with all sorts of wires sticking out of it, sparking jolts of electricity every few seconds.<p>

"Hey, stupid."

Huh?

"Get up, dumbass."

"Vee…? Lovi?" Feliciana squinted. Lovina, in her pink nightgown, was staring imperiously down at her, one hand on a hip and the other stretched out towards her.

Lovina prodded her sister's arm again. "Get out of that goddamn bed, Feliciana Venecia Vargas, or we'll be fucking late!"

"Wha…Lovi, vee…what are you doing here…?" Feliciana groped at her bedside table. "What time is it?"

"Time to get your watch," Lovina responded. She snatched it up and shoved it into Feliciana's hand. "'Tonio's here so the bathrooms are full! And I'm going to go first, so hurry up and get your shit together!"

With that, Lovina marched out of the room without another word, leaving Feliciana no less bewildered from the moment she'd awoken. The sleepy girl checked the time.

7:05 AM.

Perhaps there was hope for her internal clock after all.

* * *

><p>The breakfast table was a crowded but jolly one. Antonio, squeezed in with them, was definitely a morning person, and he was happy enough to begin singing. But he didn't, since that would probably annoy Lovina…speaking of which, Lovina was across the table from him, between her mother and sister, with an expression of fake boredom. He knew it well - it was when she was interested in what was going on but felt it was beneath her to respond.<p>

Feliciana wasn't as talkative as he remembered. Well, she was talking. Quite a bit, actually. The family was discussing meal plans for the rest of the week, and evidently, different pasta sauces were a serious issue. Antonio didn't mind, he just liked watching people.

The girls reached for the same thing at the same time. Freezing, they glanced at one another. Feliciana looked a little unsure, almost frightened. Lovina glared. Then, blushing, she withdrew her hand and nodded.

Feliciana smiled. Picking up the pitcher, she poured her sister a drink before helping herself.

Lovina pretended not to notice until she caught Antonio watching her. Blushing even more furiously, she scowled down at her plate.

Ahh, his Lovi was just too adorable!

* * *

><p><strong>AN: For the record, Feli was actually pretty happy last chapter, it was just that she was hoping to make up with Ludwig as well. It was something that was bothering her and she couldn't get her mind off it, so she left the party. Yup.**

**Can you tell which nation Luis could represent? Don't go by name though, that was arbitrarily chosen. Just birthdate.**

**Also, the next chapter might be the last O.O Sooo, do people actually read this anymore? Just curious because I hardly get any feedback. Or is the story just boring now? :C For those who do reply regularly, I reeeaaally love you guys. Just letting ya know.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sorry for the late update – this week/weekend was a little crazy with midterm assignments, plays that had to be watched, and Halloween (I went as Jubilee from the X-Men!), along with some other hectic areas of my life. But we are back…and due to my rambly tendencies, this is going to end in the next chapter, not the current one. This works out nicely for somebody =D**

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.**

* * *

><p>"Looooviiiiiii."<p>

Lovina frowned, or at least tried as much as she could with a full mouth. "Wha' 'oo y'want?"

"You should sing!" Feliciana smiled and leaned forwards on her elbow, narrowly missing a blob of paint that had dripped from the tube. "I haven't heard you sing in a really long time, vee…"

Her sister swallowed hard in shock. Coughing hard, Lovina glared.

"I'm eating my lunch, stupid, what make you think I want to sing?"

"Vee…I don't know!" Feliciana wiped the blob away. "Maybe because it's such a nice day?"

"Nice, my ass," retorted Lovina.

But she couldn't ignore the sunlight that was pouring into the art room. In typical autumn fashion, the weather had suddenly flipped around completely to grace them all with balmy, sunny and almost warm days. Mrs. Diell had most kindly allowed them to come in for the entire lunch period, and even Lovina couldn't turn the offer down. Sitting across from Feliciana, with all that light blasting in from behind her, she made a spectacular silhouette. Feliciana couldn't help grabbing her camera and snapping a photo of her.

Lovina blinked. "Hey! What the hell was that for?"

Down at the other end of the table, Kiku and Heracles looked their way. Kiku's little bento lunch box carefully set at a safe distance from her artwork, although she was only drawing with ink pens. Heracles was also doodling something absentmindedly onto a piece of scrap paper. Feliciana would have bet her heart on it being a cat. Heracles really liked cats. Even more than she did, and that was saying a lot!

The four of them had been hanging out a lot, lately. It was very cheering. Even Lovina seemed in a better mood.

Speaking of her sister, she'd finished her meal and was now hunched over, squinting at the tiny words of the newspaper covering the tables. The light continued to spill over her back, practically blinding Feliciana.

What a warm, sunny day! Feliciana felt like her own chest could burst from all the happiness welling up inside.

Ms. Diell's chair made a zipping sound as she swiveled around to glance at the clock above the blackboard.

"Alright, you guys. Start packing up – you have seven minutes to get to your next class!"

Lovina automatically straightened and began tossing stuff back into her bag. Kiku nodded and blushed when Heracles offered to put away her drawing for her, ducking her head down as she busied herself with placing the little compartments neatly inside her bento box. Feliciana reluctantly stood up to wash the paint stains off her arms.

"Looooviiiii," she called out again.

"Goddamnit Feli, _what do you want?_"

"Vee…can you come with me to my locker?"

"You can go by yourself."

"Pleeeeeeaaaaase?"

"Ugh, fine."

This was the nicest Lovina had been in ages. Feliciana wanted to hold hands as they went down the halls, but unfortunately Lovina wasn't feeling _that_ nice just yet.

"I can't wait for the long weekend, vee…and all the yummy food! We have to start choosing what food we want to make! Vee, Lovi, what do you want to…"

Though there were a good amount of people preparing for their next classes, there was no mistaking the tall figure walking towards them. Two, actually. Ludwig and Ivan were easily the tallest boys in their class.

Forgetting herself, Feliciana automatically grabbed Lovina's hand. She would have been subject to a loud lecture if Lovina hadn't noticed either, and the girls nearly flattened themselves against the wall as Ivan neared them both.

"We're going to have Thanksgiving too," Ivan was telling Ludwig happily. "It's just like a normal Thanksgiving, with turkey and cranberries. Katyusha has a break and is coming for the holiday. What about Gillian?"

"No, she's still in Europe."

"Ah, I'm sorry…you can have a dinner with us, if you like!"

"Er…that's…very kind of you."

Feliciana stared as the boys continued walking away. Ludwig hadn't looked at her. He didn't even seem to notice her. Like she was invisible! Had…had he decided to completely forget about her and everything they'd done?

Lovina made a violent choking noise.

"Normal Thanksgiving? So psycho crazy people have Thanksgiving? Yeah, like anyone's going to believe that!"

Feliciana squeezed her hand nervously. "Vee…Lovi, do you think Ludwig even saw me?"

Her sister scowled and snatched her hand away. "Why are you even still thinking of that bastard? Who cares? Let it go, Feli!"

The bell rang, and people scattered. Lovina wheeled around and marched off. Feliciana's shoulders drooped. It was remarkable to feel just how quickly the sunlight could pour out and leave you.

* * *

><p>"Ooh – watch out! Very hot pan coming through!"<p>

Feliciana leaned forwards against the table as Grandpa Roma bustled by with the freshly baked bread. She was kneading at the dough between her fingers, flattening them out and rolling them into slender, little tubes. Now take two of these tubes and twist them together – there! Perfect gemelli pasta.

Aunt Monica was across from her, busily chopping vegetables for the soup. Feliciana was almost transfixed by how her expert chef hands flew across the cutting board. Colours almost blurred together: green, orange, white, yellow…Monica sniffled and blinked away the onion tears.

"Ah, fuck!"

Turning around, Feliciana was just in time to catch Lovina jumping away from the frying pan, rubbing her arm from where the oil had burned her. Rita stirred the pot of gravy next to her, giving advice.

"Next time, don't drop the meatballs from so high – place them into the oil instead, and it won't splash you so much."

Lovina's bottom lip stuck out, and she opened her mouth to complain. But Grandpa Roma turned up that very moment to pop a little piece of _pomodori col riso_ into it.

"Delicious, no?" He grinned as she tried to frown around the tasty treat.

"Grandpa Roma! I want some too!" It probably wasn't a very good idea, but Feliciana hopped up and down excitedly. "Pleeaaase, vee!"

He had just given another piece to Rita. "Haha, sure!" He let Monica and Feliciana finish off the rest of the stuffed tomato. "But let's not get too carried away, or we might not have enough antipasto for the actual dinner!"

This, of course, was the least likely thing to happen. They were a straight-up Italian family which meant there would be several dishes for several courses all through the evening. Even if there weren't a lot of people coming. No that it really mattered - Feliciana was so sure she could finish up _quite_ a few plates of pasta and turkey…

She was startled out of her thoughts by a loud ringing. Monica hastily wiped her hands and answered her cell phone.

"Hello?" She nudged the phone between her chin and shoulder to keep her hands free to dump the vegetables into the pot. "…Oh! Francis!"

Rita and Grandpa Roma perked up at this, and Feliciana gasped. Monica smiled and freed her hand to hold the phone better.

"Yes…of course, sweetheart, it's Thanksgiving! You're missing out on a feast this year…yes, we're at Grandpa's, we're all here in the kitchen preparing together!...Yes, even Lovi…oh, would you like to talk to her?"

Lovina stiffened and dropped another meatball into the pan. Everybody winced at the painful yelps that ensued.

"She's…a little busy right now." Monica nodded as Rita gently nudged her elder daughter out of the kitchen in order to dress her cooking-war wounds. "Of course! Feli's right here – and then Grandpa next, okay?"

Feliciana gratefully snatched the cell phone from her aunt's hands and dashed into the living room to talk to her favourite cousin. Fine, perhaps he was her only cousin…but Francis was smart and nice, like a big brother! At least, he always said he should have been her big brother. Lovina didn't agree.

"Feli!"

"Francis!" Feliciana threw herself onto the couch. "Where are you now, vee?"

"Prague! You would really enjoy it. There's so much history, and you can…"

It had been so long since she'd heard this voice. In her ear, Francis felt so close but so far away. She began to envision the line connecting their receivers, all those miles away…

"…Gillian was going to buy one, but it was too expensive. Which is just as well, because it wouldn't have fit in her bag anyway and if we tried to leave, customs would have a fit."

"Vee…that sounds cool." Feliciana guiltily brought her mind back to the present.

He snickered. "So, what about you? What base are you at with Ludwig?...Lovi and 'Tonio beating you guys yet?"

She rubbed her flour-dusted fingers against her knee. "Vee…I….Ludwig…"

Before she knew it, Feliciana was rambling out the entire story. It was lucky that the rest of the family was far too busy in the kitchen to notice her curled up at one end of the couch, her knees pressed up her chest and blubbering away tearfully.

"A-and I'm too sca, sca-ha-hared to talk to him, veeeee…" She clutched at a tissue. "He doesn't even look at me!"

Sniffling, she waited for an answer. There was a long pause.

"Wha…what do you think I should do to make him notice me, vee?"

"…Well. You have…your _womanly_ wiles. You've been very much blessed in the T&A deparment, Fels. Go up to him and remind him of what he's missing," Francis said.

"Vee…truly?" Feliciana certainly hadn't thought of _that_.

"No, no," he said hastily. "I was kidding. Look, is it really that difficult to speak with Ludwig? Why don't you just tell him how you feel about all this directly? At least everything will be out on the table. You wouldn't have to feel guilty anymore."

Being direct…it sounded so simple. But it was absolutely terrifying in its simplicity.

"And if you're feeling that scared, write a letter instead. Just be honest about your feelings."

Feliciana wiped her cheek with the tissue one last time. "O…okay, Francis. Thank you, vee!"

"Anytime!" His voice oozed with gallantry. "Hey, let me talk to someone else!"

Feliciana skipped back into the kitchen, tossed the phone towards Grandpa Roma and returned to her pasta. Grabbing the rolling pin, she plucked at the mound of dough. Lovina was saying something, but she couldn't hear…Feliciana had a letter to plan.

* * *

><p>Thirty minutes later, Francis finally got to hang up. There had been several exchanges during his call, in which his mother and grandfather had repeatedly returned to nag him with little insignificant details ("Don't spend too much!" "Use protection!") while his aunt had wasted a good chunk of it trying to convince his other cousin to talk ("He's a pervy bastard, damnit!"). Gillian, sprawled out on her belly on the opposite bed, looked up.<p>

"Yo! That was the longest thing ever!"

He flopped onto his back. "It's Thanksgiving. You have to make time for family."

She nodded. "Yeah, turkey's awesome. But I'm not gonna waste money on long distance." She gestured at the little glossy cards littered across her sheets.

He picked one up. "That's why I call collect. Also, you do realize it will take perhaps two weeks for them to receive these, don't you?"

Gillian gazed blankly at her postcards. Then flipping her hair back, she sat up proudly.

"Then I'll just add 'and happy early Santa times' to the end of each one!" She snatched up her pen. "Two birds with one stone, am I awesome or am I super awesome?"

Francis laughed. "Tres, tres awesome. But maybe you'll want to call home tonight…"

"…Why?"

"I have a feeling you'll want to talk to your brother."

"Luddy? Why?"

"Just because."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Lulz, gratuitous foreign language strikes again! I got curious about Italian-American holidaying traditions and came across a personal website about it…which made me really hungry. So delicious sounding!**

**It's November now, which means National Novel Writing Month! I participated last year and fell frightfully short. This year I know better not to try this stuff during school (since November is always an assignment/test heavy month) but it doesn't mean I'm going to stop participating altogether. Instead I am aiming to create an original short story for each week of November. Thus it will be considerably less than 50K words, but a creative process nonetheless. I'm not sure if I'll share it with the internet, though…I'll think about it.**

**Good luck for anyone else doing NaNoWriMo! Please R&R!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry that this took a while! I had a lot of assignments due and this year, I hope to make better grades so they became a top priority. But now the bulk of work has been handed in. I hope you like this last chapter ^-^**

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.**

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><p>Ludwig's house was only three blocks away, but so far, this walk over was taking twenty minutes and counting. When Feliciana turned the corner and saw the white home four houses away, she couldn't help it – she turned tail and fled.<p>

It took another five minutes to collect her thoughts, quivering there on a bus stop bench. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out an envelope. Reopening it for the third time this afternoon, Feliciana examined the words she'd written:

_To: Ludwig_

_Hello! How are you doing? I hope that everything is ok! And that you had a yummy Thanksgiving! We had a big dinner with lots of turkey and pasta. I wish you could have come! But I bet you were at home having your own dinner with potatoes and wurst and things. I'm sure it was just as yummy!_

_I am writing this letter to say that I still really like you! And I want to be friends again because I am really really really sorry. I didn't know it was so bad and you would get so angry. Please let us be friends again! I hope you didn't give up on me when you started to hang out with Ivan. He's so big and scary! But if you two are friends now I understand and that must mean he's not actually so scary._

_I'm REALLY sorry!_

_~Feli_

Then she'd drawn three cats at the bottom, which were supposed to be Ludiwg, Kiku, and herself. There had just been so much space left there, and she felt a little inadequate about the shortness of the letter. Ordinarily, she would have asked someone else for their opinion, but some strange feeling inside of her had warned against showing Lovina.

Feliciana stared at the cats and frowned a little. Francis told her to be completely honest in her letter, and so she had written down every single thought that had come across her mind. And she meant it!

_HONK_.

Squealing, Feliciana instinctively jumped to the other side of the bench. In front of her, a very surly woman was glaring at her from behind a public bus steering wheel.

"Are you getting on or not?"

Feliciana sheepishly shook her head. The bus driver rolled her eyes and yanked on a lever, closing the plastic doors with a creak and driving off in a cloud of exhaust. Coughing, Feliciana got up and walked away. It was a few minutes before she realized that she was going in the wrong direction.

All too quickly, she found herself standing at the wooden gate that had been painted to match its corresponding house. The grass was clipped evenly, with flowerbeds already cleared for the oncoming winter and a spindly tree standing primly on one side. It was quite miraculous to see how neat the Beilschmidts' frown lawn could be when Gillian wasn't around.

Nudging the gate open, she followed the brick path towards the front door. It had been a while since she'd been here. It was also very quiet. Perhaps Ludwig wasn't even home, so she could just drop it in the letter-box and lea-

Feliciana nearly tripped when the sound of barking suddenly peppered the air. Tearing around the corner of the house came a golden retriever that bounded straight up to her.

"Aster!" She instantly stopped to pet the frisky dog. "How are you, vee?"

He continued to gambol around her legs, licking her fingers excitedly. At least somebody had missed her. Feliciana was still petting Aster when another sound made her freeze.

"Hey, hey, calm down. What's going on?"

She panicked, but Aster was now jumping up on his hind legs, trying to get her to play with him. Loud snuffling emanated from the door, along with a very familiar voice.

"Fine. If you want to go outside so badly, be patient!"

The Beilschmidt letter-box was only a few feet from her, hanging to the right of the door. But she could hear the latch being pulled and locks clicking open.

Only Aster, Blackie and Berlitz didn't seem to care that their owner and their favourite visitor were staring at each other in shock, wagging their tails and barking happily.

Feliciana tried to extricate herself from the three enthusiastic dogs, but Ludwig didn't move from the doorway.

"What are you doing here?"

"I…vee…I…" She ducked her head away from that unreadable stare. It wasn't scary. Just uncomfortable. "I have a letter for you!"

Ludwig's expression morphed from disbelief to slight confusion. Feliciana timidly stepped forward and handed him the envelope. Berlitz trotted back and sat down between them, looking from one human to the other with apparent satisfaction.

Ludwig stood there, giving the unopened letter a long, quiet look. Finally, he sighed.

"Is this about what happened in Asian studies?"

Feliciana yelped. "Vee…whoa! You must be psychic!"

He blinked, then shook his head. "No, no…Gillian called us yesterday. Because, well. Francis told her what happened, and, um…" Ludiwg scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "…She shouted at me for a while. It was a very different experience…I suppose she was right…"

Feliciana honestly didn't really understand what he meant. "…Vee...?"

Ludwig fiddled with the paper between his fingers. Then, finally:

"Feliciana, I'm sorry. I was angry at you, but holding a grudge is taking it too far…"

"Vee, I'm sorry too!" Feliciana jumped forward, determined not to let her moment of apology pass. "I said so in the letter! I never thought you were so mad about that stuff, vee, and I don't ever want to stop being friends with you because I really like you, Ludwig, and I was scared that now you don't want to be friends with me and would rather be friends with Ivan-"

He raised a hand to stop her rambling. "It's okay! We're still friends!"

Feliciana stopped, holding her breath. "Vee…really?"

Ludwig nodded. It took a moment to let the words sink in, but when they did, Feliciana squealed and threw her arms around him.

"Yay! I was so scared!"

Ludwig staggered under the sudden addition of weight and stepped back, narrowly missing Blackie. "Uh, okay…I…"

"Vee…I really like you, Ludwig."

He felt himself going red. "Oh. Thank you…"

Feliciana pried herself away, eyes clouding over worriedly. "Don't you like me, vee?"

"Yeah…I like you too."

They stared at each other for a few torturously awkward seconds. Then Feliciana just hugged him again. It made sense that this was going to take some time…

Aster nudged Ludwig's ankle and gave out a small whine. The blond looked down at three canines staring at him expectantly.

"Well…Feli, do you want to help me walk them?"

She clapped her hands, beaming excitedly. "Vee, yes! Let's go to the park!"

It turned out he could only hold onto Berlitz and Blackie's leashes with his right hand, since Feliciana had firmly wrapped herself around his left arm. She was supposed to be walking Aster, but once you added a hyperactive puppy and a scatterbrained girl together, things tended to take a lot longer. Indeed, they had to stop and disentangle Aster's leash twice before they had arrived, and Ludwig was forced to chase him down and retrieve him from mauling someone's hydrangeas just before they got to the park.

Letting them loose at a field, he and Feliciana stood quietly and watched the dogs happily run after each other. After a second, he turned to her.

"Hey, Feli. Give me your pinky."

She blinked, but obeyed his order. Curling his around hers, he said, "I can't promise not getting mad again…but I can promise not being irrational about it. Okay?"

Feliciana laughed. "Vee, okay! I can…promise not to be so…so…"

She stopped, not sure what she wanted to say.

"Insensitive?"

"Yeah!" Feliciana's eyes widened again. "B-but…you have to tell me, vee! Or else I won't know…"

"Alright, I promise to tell you…"

For some reason, they both stopped there. After a moment, they giggled.

"Oh!"

The couple turned around and saw Kiku standing on the path behind them, also holding a leash. Pochi tugged on it, eager to join the German dogs.

"Kiku!"

"Hello, Feli-chan, Ludwig-san…" The Japanese girl let go and her dog scampered away. "Are you…both of you…"

"Vee, we're friends again!" Feliciana ran towards her, dragging Ludwig along as they were still linked together. "All three of us together again…vee, I'm so happy!"

Kiku smiled. "Then I'm happy too."

Feliciana threw her arms around both of them. "Aw, you guys! Everything's going to be the best, vee! Let's go and have gelato after this!"

Her friends stared at her. Then, Ludwig couldn't hold in a snort, and Kiku's smile widened…in minutes, the three of them simply stood there on the grass, laughing hysterically. The dogs circled them, wondering just _what _on earth was so funny.

Feliciana wiped her eyes, still giggling. Her two best friends, four dogs, a fine, crisp day, and a possibility of dessert in the very near future.

Everything was going to be the best.

FIN

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So many ellipses, gah! (The dogs didn't make any noise when Ivan visited because they were too busy hiding in Ludwig's closet. xD)**

**First dramatic story…pass or fail? Personally, I feel that it succeeded in a few places, then totally flopped in others. Must work on things. OTL**

**I'll continue to update **_**Thicker Than Water**_** – which is becoming really fun to write. Also, look out for something about Maddie and Gilly in the following year ^-^ I'm reeaally excited for that. Non-AU wise, I'd like to do more historical fic. I'm going to use winter break to get a head start on all this! /strikes determined pose**

**Now for nonfiction: for those who follow LJ or Tumblr – and even if you don't – I've joined a Hetalia fan magazine called **_**The Circle**_**. It's primarily based on providing fun historical background to APH's craziness. Our first issue, with a WWI theme, is due in January ^-^ I absolutely love being involved in this. So if you're interested, check us out! (We also could use more writers :3)**

**Thank you very much for reading this story! Hope to see you again in the future C:**

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><p><strong>Fun stuff: At the start, I was having a bit of trouble coming up with a title for this (like I do for every story), so I turned to my RL best friend who has named my other works before. While <strong>_**All the Answers**_** ultimately won, here were some other contenders:**

_**Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater  
>I'm Not Giving You The Answers, Feli<br>Feli, Do Your Work  
>Seriously Feli, Stop Looking At My Homework<br>GODDAMN STOP IT  
>Veeeeeee =.=<strong>_


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